One time-honored and a rather fun tradition that the First Family are expected to go along with is getting a pet. President George W. Bush had a dog named Spot, and the Obamas had their dog, Bo. It actually began with Thomas Jefferson, who had a mockingbird and some bear cubs, not your typical pet, we know.
Ed Lengel, the chief historian at the White House Historical Association, once told CNN that the presidential pet is meant to “soften their image” and “broadens their appeal.” He added, “They help create an atmosphere of the White House as a family, a lived-in place and not just a stiff museum, but a place where a family lives and plays and enjoys each other’s company.” President Trump, the current president, is actually the first president since Jefferson to break this tradition, as he does not have a pet.
The First Family Sometimes Get in Debt
It's customary for the first family to pick up the tab for every meal their guests eat and drink at the White House and Camp David. In fact, former first lady, Laura Bush, expressed being unprepared for some of the costs after becoming the first lady in 2001, "There were some costs that I was not prepared for," she wrote. "I was amazed by the sheer number of designer clothes that I was expected to buy, like the women before me, to meet the expectations for a first lady." This also caught Nancy Reagan by surprise. “Nobody had told us that the president and his wife are charged for every meal, as well as for such incidentals as dry cleaning, toothpaste, and other toiletries,” she said in an interview about life in the White House in January 1981.
All of those expenses add up over the course of a presidency, especially if the president serves multiple terms, leaving the First Family in debt. In fact, former President Bill Clinton was $16 million in debt by the time he left the White House in 2001. When he left office in 1825, President James Monroe was deeply in debt.
Post-Presidency Travel Perks
Some of the presidential perks last beyond their four (or eight) years in office. The General Services Administration provide former presidents with a sum of money to cover travel and business expenses after their service to the country. While the media often shows photos of presidents having fanning dinners with diplomats... playing gold with other politicians, the truth is they'll often business meetings.
Like Nancy Reagan once said, “Presidents don’t get vacations – they just get a change of scenery. The job goes with you.” It sounds like it's a well-deserved gift considering how stressful leading the country can be. Do you think a vacation budget is the least we can do after their service to the country?
The Must Clean Up For Dinner
Constantly attending formal dinners not only puts the president and the first lady on exhibition but their children as well. Presidential kids are always in the public eye, not to mention their every action is carefully scrutinized. As a child, first daughter Amy Carter was once criticized for brining books along to keep her entertained when she attended a state dinner. Presidential kids must always be dressed to a T and on their best behavior for such functions not that that will always keep the critics at bay.
The chief historian of the White House Historical Association Edward Lengel explained "They still have to wear nice clothes — they can't come to a formal dinner wearing a Snoopy shirt or something. And they have to eat carefully, in a certain way. They have to be polite and shake hands."
No Keys to the White House
For kids of the First Family, sneaking out of the White House is next to impossible. Normal teenagers across the nation can simply climb out of a window in the middle of the night and climb back in by morning, but remember, the first family isn't even allowed to open any windows. And even if a rebellious presidential kid does manage to slip past their Secret Service agents, they wouldn't be able to get back in the house without anyone noticing as they can't have "the keys" to the White House.
The doors of the White House automatically lock, which in the past, has led to at least two presidents, Gerald Ford, and Barack Obama, to accidentally getting locked out of their home. In Ford's case, he went to walk his dog out at night and then couldn't access the White House's elevator that led to his room. In Obama's case, he had returned home early from a trip and couldn't get into the Oval Office.