Barack Obama's Christmas Tweet Is Adorably Festive

President Donald Trump may claim he brought "Merry Christmas" back to the White House, but his predecessor certainly has the holiday spirit. Former President Barack Obama's Christmas 2019 tweet was every bit as festive as you'd expect, complete with a photo of his decked-out Christmas tree. Spending time with loved ones over the holidays has always been important to Obama, and 2019 was no different.

This year, as in past years, Obama tweeted out a short and sweet holiday greeting, complete with the words "Merry Christmas" and a photo of his family's Christmas tree complete with lights, ornaments, garlands, and of course, a few presents underneath. "From the Obama family to yours, Merry Christmas!" he captioned the festive shot. This year's offering is a departure from the Obama's Christmas messages in recent years, which have almost always included photos of the former first family. For example, in 2018, Obama's Christmas tweet included a photo of him and former first lady Michelle Obama. Before that, in 2017, he tweeted out of a photo of his whole family — including his daughters Sasha and Malia — along with a group of kids in elf costumes.

While Obama's heartfelt Christmas messages have always encouraged his followers to spend time with loved ones over the holidays, Trump's Christmas 2018 tweet presented a sharp contrast to that of his predecessor. In fact, all it said was "Merry Christmas" — and this year was no different.

On Dec. 25, the president headed to Twitter to simply share the words "Merry Christmas" written in all-caps. While his own tweet was simple and to the point, he did re-share a video post from wife Melania, which read, "Wishing you all a very #MerryChristmas! May your day be filled with peace, love and happiness!"

The contrast is interesting considering the POTUS has previously accused his predecessor of not properly celebrating the holiday. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump argued that Democrats like former President Obama were waging a war on Christmas. In December 2017 — in honor of his first Christmas in office — Trump went so far as to claim the phrase "Merry Christmas" had been under assault, and that his administration had single-handedly made people "proud to be saying Merry Christmas again."

"People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again," he said in a tweet shared on Christmas Eve that year. "I am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!"

But as Snopes pointed out, Trump didn't have much proof to support his argument that Obama had been attacking Christmas in any way. It's true that Obama chose to adopt more neutral, seasonal greetings for his official White House holiday cards to be more inclusive. However, the White House still celebrated Christmas with Christmas trees, the National Christmas Tree Lighting, and a variety of decorations during Obama's presidency like those before it.

Judging by how decked out their Christmas tree is and the accompanying message, former President Obama is still clearly keeping up the holiday cheer whether he's in office or not.