Citizen Trump: the president shuns the arts – but increasingly resembles one of cinema's greatest creations

The White House of Donald J Trump is a curiously inert place, says Martin Carter of Sheffield Hallam University. For most other presidents, active engagement with culture and the arts has been a means of presenting a more human image to the American public.

Indeed, the celebration and promotion of American popular culture has been an integral part of most recent administrations. Nixon accompanied the singer Pearl Bailey on piano; Dizzy Gillespie brought jazz to the Carter White House; Fleetwood Mac reformed to play at Bill Clinton’s inaugural; James Brown took it to the bridge for George W Bush; and Obama’s time in office saw a veritable festival of stars perform for the president.