Obama Thanked Veterans While Trump Made The Whole Day About Himself: 'Everything Is My Idea'

Scour Washington all you like, but you'll be hard-pressed to find someone more self-absorbed than President Donald J. Trump. Veterans Day, celebrated on November 11, is when the American nation hits pause to honor those who served their country. Unless you're Trump, that is. I hate to draw comparisons, but while Former President Barack Obama personally took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to thank veterans for their service, his successor merely reposted the White House's X post honoring the day, which read: "To every veteran, thank you for your service." That seems a little lackluster, to say the least. 

Trump loves posting on social media, and Veterans Day was surely worthy of a personal message from the president, perhaps with some words in all caps to emphasize just how much he really cares. Obama notably backed up his statement with action too, surprising a plane full of veterans who landed in Washington the day prior on an honor flight, thanking them in person for dedicating their lives to their country. Trump, meanwhile, made the rounds promoting himself. The president appeared on ESPN host Pat McAfee's sports show on Veterans Day and made a point of explicitly stating that he was not there to talk about honoring the country's military personnel. 

Ahead of Veterans Day, I was honored to welcome a flight of veterans and their families as they arrived in DC.

To all those who bravely served our country, thank you to you and your family for your extraordinary service. The sacrifices that all of you have made to protect our... pic.twitter.com/bXF7DIN7ow

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 11, 2025

"I'm only joining you because I hear you say such nice things about me from your very large audience," Trump clarified. "When people say nice about me, I join. When they don't say nice about me, I take a pass," (via the Daily Beast). Sounds about right. Unsurprisingly, the divisive politician then proceeded to talk extensively about himself, including repeating the long-debunked claims that the 2020 election was rigged during what was, thankfully, only a 22-minute interview (though it felt like hours).

When you look at all of the tacky changes Donald Trump has made to the Oval Office, not to mention the president's out-of-touch Halloween party, and his efforts to block full SNAP payments during what fast became the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, it's not exactly a surprise that Trump didn't have much empathy to spare for the country's veterans on November 11. In fact, I'm pretty sure that, if Veterans Day events hadn't been penciled into his schedule, the controversial leader would have forgotten about the day's existence altogether. While the country observed the holiday, the American people were also subjected to the second segment of Trump's interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham, who had to endure a White House tour during her exchange with the president. Trump's gaudy Oval Office tour was giving Mar-a-Lago 2.0, and the rest of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was no different. 

As the former "Apprentice" host proudly showed off the wall bearing the golden-framed portraits of his predecessors, which notably includes a picture of an autopen where Joe Biden's headshot should be, Ingraham asked, "Whose idea was this?" Trump confidently replied, "My idea. Everything's my idea." The Fox News host then appeared to roll her eyes as she shot back, "Everything's your idea, OK." The divisive politician, unsurprisingly, failed to detect any hint of sarcasm. It is shocking, nay, disturbing, that the President of the United States of America is more concerned about renovations and preserving his fragile ego than the 1.2 million veterans who rely on SNAP benefits to feed themselves and their families. And indeed, attempts to deprive them of those benefits during the government shutdown were entirely Trump's idea.