Outgoing US President Joe Biden welcomed Donald Trump and his wife Melania to the White House on Monday morning (local time) for tea before the inauguration ceremony.
“Welcome home,” Joe Biden said to Donald Trump for a courtesy visit, with more private than political connotations.
The 45th (2017-2021) and soon-to-be 47th President of the United States climbed the steps leading to the main entrance of the White House, in the bitter cold of a sunny January morning.
Donald Trump, accompanied by his wife Melania, whose face was partly hidden by a hat, was greeted by Joe and Jill Biden, both smiling.
Shortly before, outgoing Vice-President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff received future Vice-President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance at the same place. “This is democracy in action,” said the unsuccessful candidate of the Democratic Party to journalists who asked her how she felt.
The Republican billionaire, elected on November 5 at the end of a campaign marked by two assassination attempts and a historic criminal conviction, began his day by attending a religious service.
-At his side, confirming their spectacular rallying to the new power, the bosses of the tech giants: Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Tim Cook (Apple). And of course Elon Musk (X, SpaceX, Tesla), omnipresent ally of Donald Trump.
The Republican will take full possession of the White House in the afternoon, after becoming president of the world’s leading power at precisely noon, Washington time (6 p.m. in Switzerland). He will also, at 78 years old, be the oldest American head of state ever inaugurated.
He will swear to protect the Constitution under the dome of the Capitol, the same place where on January 6, 2021, his supporters tried to prevent Congress from certifying the victory of his Democratic rival.
The ceremony usually takes place outside, but the protocol was turned upside down due to the freezing temperatures.
