Donald Trump inauguration live: Joe Biden welcomes the future president to the White House

Before the start of the inauguration ceremony, Donald Trump went, around 2:15 p.m. (Belgian time), to St. John’s Church for a mass as is tradition.

Left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed Monday his wish that the United States remain a “historic partner” of Brazil under the administration of Republican Donald Trump, ally of his far-right rival Jair Bolsonaro.

“As president of Brazil, I hope that (Trump) will have a profitable management (…) and that the Americans will continue to be the historic partner that they are for Brazil, because on our part, we do not We don’t want quarrels, neither with Venezuela, nor with the Americans, nor with China, India or Russia,” Lula declared during a ministerial meeting.

Architect of Trump’s campaign, Susie Wiles will be the president’s chief of staff at the White House. Portrait.

A few hours before ceding power to Donald Trump, Joe Biden granted this Monday a series of preventive pardons to elected officials or civil servants, to protect them from “unjustified and politically motivated legal proceedings”.

“I believe in the rule of law and I am sure that the solidity of our judicial system will ultimately prevail in the face of political debates. But we live in exceptional circumstances and I cannot, in good conscience, do nothing “, he wrote in a press release.

From 200,000 to 250,000 curious people were initially expected at the handover ceremony with Joe Biden. But there will undoubtedly be fewer of them given the warnings issued not to come and defy the polar cold spell predicted by the weather forecast.

The mercury could drop below -5°C, which is why the inauguration was moved to the rotunda of the Capitol, instead of being held on the steps of the headquarters of Congress.

Vlaams Belang President Tom Van Grieken (member of the delegation of the far-right European party PfE) and N-VA MEP Assita Kanko (member of the European Parliament delegation for relations with the United States) will also be.

For the first time, a host of international guests will be present with a strong representation of far-right movements.

On the European side, Georgia Meloni, head of the Italian government, and Nigel Farage, populist leader of Reform UK will also be present alongside Éric Zemmour.

Argentinian President Javier Milei, also from the far right, will join the party. The populist Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil, was also invited.

The president-elect will take the oath of office at noon but there are many other protocols to follow: here is everything you need to know about this special day in American history.

➡️ Donald Trump’s inauguration: program, guests, security… everything you need to know about “Inauguration Day”