8 Presidential Traditions Every Modern President Followed Until Trump. Name Them, Floridians

Modern presidents from both parties have followed a familiar playbook on certain traditions.

Reagan did them. Bush did them. Clinton did them. Bush did them again. Obama did them. Biden did them.

But President Donald Trump has broken or skipped a lot of these over his two terms. Historians, journalists, and former White House staffers have spent considerable time tracking what changed.

Here are 9 presidential traditions every modern president followed until Trump. How many can you name, Floridians?

Attending the Successor’s Inauguration

When a sitting president loses re-election, tradition calls for him to attend the swearing-in of his successor and ride to the Capitol with the new president.

That tradition held for over 150 years.

Trump broke it in January 2021, becoming the first outgoing president since Andrew Johnson in 1869 to skip his successor’s inauguration.

He left Washington that morning on Air Force One before Joe Biden took the oath.

The symbolic ride down Pennsylvania Avenue with the new president, a fixture of every modern transition, didn’t happen.

Hosting the Incoming President at the White House

On the morning of Inauguration Day, the outgoing president and First Lady traditionally host the incoming president and First Lady at the White House for tea or coffee.

It’s a brief, awkward, deeply symbolic moment.

Trump skipped it in 2021, becoming the first outgoing president in modern history to refuse the invitation.

Melania Trump also did not give Jill Biden the traditional White House tour for the new First Family, breaking a tradition that dates back to 1953, when Bess Truman showed Mamie Eisenhower the private White House quarters.

Every First Lady since had honored the tour.

Even Laura Bush, who’d watched a brutal campaign against her husband, gave Michelle Obama the tour in 2008 and invited Sasha and Malia to see their new bedrooms.

Hosting the Kennedy Center Honors

The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual gala recognizing lifetime contributions to American culture.

Every modern president from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama hosted the honorees at the White House and attended the ceremony.

Trump declined to attend during his first term, becoming the first sitting president to skip the Kennedy Center Honors entirely.

The 2017 boycott was a response to several honorees, including TV producer Norman Lear, publicly saying they would not attend a White House reception with him.

In his second term, Trump went further.

In February 2025, he had himself appointed chair of the Kennedy Center board, replaced the board members, and announced he would host the 2025 Honors as the chairman.

The tradition of the president as honored guest, rather than chairman and host, ended.

Releasing Tax Returns

Every modern president since Richard Nixon has voluntarily released their personal tax returns, either while running for office or shortly after taking office.

The practice started in the 1970s after Nixon’s audit and became a norm through Carter, Reagan, both Bushes, Clinton, Obama, and Biden.

Trump didn’t release his tax returns during the 2016 campaign, the 2020 campaign, the 2024 campaign, or his time in either office.

He’s the first major-party nominee since the 1970s to refuse, citing ongoing audits.

The House Ways and Means Committee released six years of his returns in December 2022 after a multi-year legal battle.

Unveiling the Predecessor’s Official Portrait

For about 40 years, every sitting president has hosted a ceremony in the East Room to unveil the official White House portrait of his predecessor.

The tradition crosses party lines.

George W. Bush hosted the unveiling of the Clinton portraits in 2004. Obama hosted the unveiling of the Bush portraits in 2012.

Trump didn’t host an unveiling for the Obama portraits during his first term.

Biden hosted the Obama portrait unveiling in 2022, five years late, and also hosted the unveiling of the official Clinton and Bush portraits during his term.

In 2025, Trump returned to the White House. The Biden portrait unveiling hasn’t been scheduled.

Attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner dates to 1921, and the sitting president has traditionally attended the dinner during their term.

The event raises money for journalism scholarships and traditionally features the president delivering humorous remarks.

Every modern president from Calvin Coolidge in 1924 through Barack Obama attended the dinner at least once during their term. Some attended multiple times.

Even Reagan, who missed the 1981 dinner while recovering from an assassination attempt, attended later WHCDs during his presidency.

Trump skipped every Correspondents’ Dinner during his entire first term from 2017 through 2020. He was the first sitting president in modern memory to refuse to attend the dinner for an entire four-year term.

In April 2026, Trump did attend the Correspondents’ Dinner as the honored guest. The dinner itself was disrupted by a shooting outside the venue and was suspended before it could finish.

The streak of skipping every dinner throughout a presidential term broke a near-century-long tradition.

Championing a Single First Lady Initiative

Every modern First Lady has championed a single signature initiative tied to her time in the White House.

Nancy Reagan had “Just Say No.” Barbara Bush focused on literacy. Hillary Clinton worked on healthcare. Laura Bush championed reading. Michelle Obama launched “Let’s Move.” Jill Biden focused on community colleges and military families.

Melania Trump’s “Be Best” campaign launched in May 2018, more than a year into her husband’s first term. The initiative focused on children’s wellness, cyberbullying, and opioid abuse.

The unusual part wasn’t the topic. It was the gap.

Melania Trump didn’t live full-time at the White House for the first five months of the first Trump term, staying in New York with their son Barron until he finished the school year.

No other modern First Lady delayed her move into the White House.

In the second term, Melania Trump has again indicated she will not live full-time at the White House, breaking again with modern First Lady residency norms.

Divesting From Personal Business Interests

Since the 1960s, every modern president has divested from active business interests upon taking office, typically by placing assets in a blind trust managed by an independent trustee.

Trump didn’t.

Before taking office in 2017, Trump announced he was placing his business holdings in a revocable trust managed by his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, while retaining ownership.

Ethics experts at the time called this arrangement different from the blind trusts of previous presidents.

The Trump Organization continued to operate during both terms with Trump as owner.