Source: Daily Beast
by John Casey
“In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, the Ghost of Christmas Past doesn’t punish or terrify. Instead, it reminds. The haunting is less mystical than moral, illustrating how history lingers when its lessons go unlearned. The tale remains especially relevant in the White House today, and not just because of the holiday season. Besides, Melania hates Christmas. Every presidential administration wrestles with its own ghosts. President Trump and his Cabinet of Scrooges are shadowed by two figures whose failures stemmed not from circumstance but character: Herbert Hoover and J. Edgar Hoover.” (12/21/25)