Goodwill between presidents took a back seat on Presidents Day 2020.

Former President Barack Obama appeared to take a rare political jab at his successor in a tweet Monday that cast aspersions on President Trump's claims that he deserves credit for recent economic gains, a key reelection platform for the 45th president.

"Eleven years ago today, near the bottom of the worst recession in generations, I signed the Recovery Act, paving the way for more than a decade of economic growth and the longest streak of job creation in American history," Obama said, including with the tweet a picture of his signature on the 2009 stimulus package.



Eleven years ago today, near the bottom of the worst recession in generations, I signed the Recovery Act, paving the way for more than a decade of economic growth and the longest streak of job creation in American history. pic.twitter.com/BmdXrxUAUf — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 17, 2020



The tweet was a rare swipe at Trump by Obama, who has largely stayed out of the 2020 election cycle. Obama has yet to endorse any candidate seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, but his input about the economy nonetheless provides ammo to the entire field as they seek to counter Trump's 2020 campaign, which has been touting record economic growth in the face of controversies such as the Russia investigation and impeachment.

Trump shot back at Obama some hours later on Twitter.

"Did you hear the latest con job? President Obama is now trying to take credit for the Economic Boom taking place under the Trump Administration. He had the WEAKEST recovery since the Great Depression, despite Zero Fed Rate & MASSIVE quantitative easing. NOW, best jobs numbers ever," Trump said Monday evening. "Had to rebuild our military, which was totally depleted. Fed Rate UP, taxes and regulations WAY DOWN. If Dems won in 2016, the USA would be in big economic (Depression?) & military trouble right now. THE BEST IS YET TO COME. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!"



....ever. Had to rebuild our military, which was totally depleted. Fed Rate UP, taxes and regulations WAY DOWN. If Dems won in 2016, the USA would be in big economic (Depression?) & military trouble right now. THE BEST IS YET TO COME. KEEP AMERICA GREAT! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2020



During the Great Recession, which began under President George W. Bush, the unemployment rate surged and peaked at around 10% in 2010 before it began a steady fall under Obama. The downward trend has continued under Trump. The unemployment rate as of January sits at a low 3.6%, with 225,000 new jobs added that month.

Trump often touts the low unemployment numbers while on the campaign trail, but Democrats and other critics have pointed out that the decline in unemployment started while Obama was president.

The Gross Domestic Product growth rate was -2.5% in 2009, Obama's first year in office, before rebounding to 2.6% the following year. Since then, the GDP has increased each year.

Although there tends to be an unspoken cordiality between those who once sat in the Oval Office, the chilly demeanor between Trump and Obama has manifested in realms other than economics.

Trump has not publicly said if he has consulted with any of his predecessors on policy matters, including Obama, despite the latter’s reported expectation that he would. Kevin Lewis, Obama’s first press secretary after leaving office, said Obama hoped for a more traditional relationship between them.

“He wanted to be a resource,” Lewis said. “What we didn’t expect at the level that it was done were the attacks.”

Trump recently slammed Obama over his foreign policy. After the U.S. killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in January, the president criticized Obama’s stance on Iran. In particular, he took aim at the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, from which the U.S. withdrew under Trump and Iran has since repeatedly violated.

“He [Soleimani] was their real military leader," Trump said on The Rush Limbaugh Show. "He’s a terrorist. He was designated a terrorist by President Obama. And then Obama did nothing about it, except give them $150 billion, even more incredibly $1.8 billion in cash.”

The Trump-Obama iciness has extended into the East Wing as well. Former first lady Michelle Obama said in 2018 that first lady Melania Trump never reached out to her for advice or guidance, despite her overtures to assist.

White House communications director Stephanie Grisham told the Washington Examiner at the time that, “Trump is a strong and independent woman who has been navigating her role as First Lady in her own way. When she needs advice on any issue, she seeks it from her professional team within the White House.”

Presidents Day is a holiday known federally as Washington's Birthday. Although President George Washington's birthday is actually on Feb. 22, the government changed the celebration in 1968 to the third Monday of February. There was an effort at the time to combine the holiday with President Abraham Lincoln's birthday and change the name to Presidents Day, and although that never succeeded, the name still stuck.