Memo to Trump: There can be only one president at a time
One of the hallmarks of our democratic system is its commitment to the peaceful transition of power. This practice comes with two important, linked corollaries that fall under the umbrella that there can be only one president at a time. The first is that the incoming president, especially in the arena of foreign policy, takes care not to trespass on the prerogatives of the incumbent. The second is that the outgoing president, once departed, remains largely mute, giving his successor space to operate unimpeded by post-presidential back-seat carping.
President-elect Donald Trump must have missed this memo. Not bothering to wait for the constitutionally mandated handover, Trump has inserted himself into policymaking, from bullying U.S. manufacturers to barging into foreign affairs, including shaking up U.S.-China policy and intruding into the Obama administration’s dealings with Israel at the United Nations.
This public tussling is as disturbing as it is unprecedented.
President Richard Nixon, at a news conference a week after being sworn in, was asked whether he would stick with judicial nominations submitted by his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson. Nixon noted that, in conversations as president-elect with Johnson administration officials, he had “scrupulously followed the line that we have one president at a time, and that he must continue to be president until he leaves office on January 20.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/memo-to-trump-there-can-be-only-one-president-at-a-time/2016/12/28/753b1406-cd39-11e6-a747-d03044780a02_story.html?utm_term=.f24aec3f9dc9&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
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