Here Are All The Ways Donald Trump Has Disregarded Political Protocol Since Being Elected President

Prior to the outcome of the 2016 election, many voters, political pundits and even government officials expressed concern over how Donald Trump would handle the tremendous responsibility of maintaining such a high level of discretion and following the political protocol that has been in place for decades, should he be elected President.

With less than two weeks under his belt as President-elect, Trump has proven that their concerns were most definitely valid.

In addition to the highly questionable decision-making that the wealthy reality TV businessman has employed in selecting his cabinet, Trump has continued to side step the most basic of long-standing political protocol practices since the end of the election. In case you haven’t been keeping up, here’s a list of all the ways he’s basically given the American political foundation the middle finger for the last week — as President-elect.

1. Banning press from his first White House meeting with President Obama

Donald Trump never made his disdain for the media a secret at any point during his campaign, but preventing journalists from attending his first official post-election sit down with the current President breaks a long-standing White House tradition. Blocking media access as President stands to send the message that maintaining transparency and building trust with the American people is not a priority.

2. Vowing to amend Congressional term limits

In what he describes as an effort to “clean up the system,” Trump said on 60 Minutes that he will be making changes to the approved term limits for members of Congress, as well as place tougher restrictions on them becoming lobbyists after serving in Congress.

3. Refusing to agree to live in the White House full-time as President

The New York Times has reported that Trump has been speaking with his team about continuing to spend his weekends in NYC at Trump Tower, while only residing at the White House during the week. The POTUS residing in the White House is another long-standing tradition that has gone undisrupted until now.

4. Tweeting about his cabinet-appointment process

As Trump continues to draw criticism for his disappointing choices in cabinet members, it seems he plans to make the process a contest of sorts. On Tuesday evening, Trump boasted about his new-found authority, tweeting “Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!”

Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2016

5. Refusing to accept the presidential salary

In another talked-about moment from his 60 Minutes interview, Trump confirmed that he will refuse the $400,000 presidential salary that the president is required to accept by law. 

6. Going to dinner without notifying press

Trump went to dinner with his family and failed to notify any of the designated press outlets as to where he was headed. While this may sound insignificant, sitting presidents and their teams have traditionally maintained open communication with select press outlets when planning to go out in public.

As mentioned previously, the practice allows the new president to build trust with the public as their leader through embracing the idea of transparency.