At White House Thanksgiving Reception, Trump Ejects Obama With a Shout; Former President’s Reply Silences the Room

By Peter Baker and Katie Rogers Washington — Nov. 26, 2025

WASHINGTON — A tradition meant to signal national unity fractured into open acrimony on Tuesday evening when President Donald J. Trump abruptly ordered former President Barack Obama to leave a White House Thanksgiving reception, capping months of simmering tension with a public outburst that stunned guests and instantly dominated the political conversation heading into the holiday.

The confrontation unfolded in the East Room shortly after 7:15 p.m., during a bipartisan gathering of roughly 220 dignitaries, military families and administration officials — an event Mr. Trump had revived from the Obama years as a gesture of post-election reconciliation. The two men had managed an uneasy cordiality for the first hour: a brief handshake for photographers, separate circles of small talk. But when Mr. Obama approached a group that included Vice President JD Vance and several moderate Republican governors to discuss veterans’ mental health funding — a cause both presidents have championed — Mr. Trump intervened.

Witnesses said the president, who had been watching from across the room, strode over and interrupted loudly.

“Barack, you had your eight years. Get out!” Mr. Trump declared, pointing toward the doors. “We’re fixing what you broke. Go!”

A hush fell over the East Room. Silverware stopped clinking. A Marine Band ensemble playing soft holiday standards in the corner trailed off mid-phrase.

Mr. Obama, visibly startled but maintaining his trademark composure, paused for several seconds before responding.

“Mr. President,” he said evenly, loud enough for those nearby to hear clearly, “this house doesn’t belong to any one of us. It belongs to the country. I’ll leave when the people who keep it running — the ushers, the chefs, the Marines — tell me my time is up. Not before.”

He then placed his untouched glass of sparkling water on a passing waiter’s tray, offered a small nod to the stunned governors, and walked unhurriedly toward the Cross Hall. Former first lady Michelle Obama, who had been speaking with Jill Biden near the grand piano, joined him without a word. The couple exited through the North Portico to their motorcade as flashbulbs erupted.

The White House offered no official comment Tuesday night. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt later released a brief statement calling the exchange “a lighthearted moment taken out of context by the fake news media,” adding that Mr. Trump “simply reminded President Obama that the American people chose new leadership.”

Yet multiple attendees described the incident as anything but lighthearted. “It was raw, almost primal,” said Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Republican who has occasionally criticized Mr. Trump. “Everyone just froze. You could feel two decades of resentment boil over in ten seconds.”

The eruption was the culmination of escalating provocations. Mr. Trump has repeatedly blamed Mr. Obama for everything from the persistence of inflation to the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files, reviving birther-era rhetoric in recent weeks. Mr. Obama, for his part, has been uncharacteristically pointed since leaving office, telling audiences in October that “some leaders traffic in fear because they have nothing else to offer.”

Tuesday’s clash instantly overshadowed the reception’s intended message of gratitude. Guests reported that Mr. Trump, red-faced, returned to his circle and declared, “That’s what winning looks like,” before abruptly ending the event 40 minutes early. The Marine Band was dismissed mid-song.

On Truth Social at 11:03 p.m., Mr. Trump posted: “Had to remind Crooked Barack that his time is OVER! He spied on my campaign, destroyed our military, and now lectures ME in MY house? SAD! Biggest cheer of the night when he left!”

Within minutes, Mr. Obama responded — not on social media, but through a statement emailed to reporters by his office in Chicago:

“Tonight I was reminded that grace under pressure is still the hardest job in democracy. Michelle and I wish every American — including those who disagree with us — a peaceful Thanksgiving. We still believe what we believed when we first walked into that house: We are one nation, not enemies.”

By Wednesday morning, the three-sentence reply had been viewed more than 40 million times after being shared by news outlets and amplified across platforms. Cable networks replayed grainy cellphone footage on a loop; late-night hosts scrapped planned segments to address it live. On X, #GetOut and #GraceUnderPressure trended simultaneously in the United States.

Democrats seized on the moment as emblematic of a presidency unmoored. “This wasn’t a gaffe,” said Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. “It was a window into the pettiness that now occupies the people’s house.” Republicans were more circumspect. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called it “unfortunate” but quickly pivoted to praising Mr. Trump’s economic record.

Historians struggled to find precedent. The closest parallel — Andrew Jackson’s 1830s refusal to receive former President John Quincy Adams — occurred in a far less public era. “We have never seen two living presidents confront each other this openly on White House grounds,” said Doris Kearns Goodwin, the presidential scholar.

As families gathered for Thanksgiving, the exchange became instant dinner-table fodder. Polling released Wednesday by CNN showed 58 percent of Americans viewed Mr. Trump’s conduct as “unpresidential,” including 22 percent of Republicans — the highest negative mark of his second term on any single incident.

For the Obamas, the evening ended quietly at their Kalorama home, where aides said they watched the Macy’s parade prep with their grandchildren and declined further comment. For Mr. Trump, it was another night of cable news and calls to allies, insisting the crowd had been “100 percent” behind him.

In a city that has grown numb to norm-breaking, Tuesday’s confrontation felt different — less spectacle than fracture. As one longtime White House residence staffer, granted anonymity to speak freely, put it while clearing the abandoned East Room tables:

“Forty-five presidents have walked these halls. Most left knowing the house is bigger than any one man. Tonight, for a moment, it felt smaller than ever.”