Trump triumphantly returns to the White House

The two men, formidable political rivals, sat after 11:00 in the morning in the Oval Office, in front of a somewhat unnecessary fireplace in a 10-degree climate, which seemed to want to add some heat and temper a coldness that was impossible to hide.

Biden said, “Congratulations and I hope we have a smooth transition.” Trump responded: “Politics is tough and in many cases it is not a kind world, but today it is.”

Outside, dozens of White House employees watched the president’s offices with apparent nervousness. Hundreds of journalists gathered at the door of the West Wing, like in the old days of the Trump show, or perhaps even more so.

“Back to normal”

The will of the outgoing president, as he has said, is to return to normality and institutions after the turbulence of the end of the first Trump era, the allegations of fraud and the attempted insurrection in 2021. Trump has clearly won, both the direct vote like the electoral college, and Biden receives it without denying it a single iota of legitimacy.

The man who left Washington on January 20, 2021 without even admitting defeat, with two impeachment trials behind him and after the assault on the Capitol, now returns vindicated.

Absent was incoming first lady Melania Trump, who declined the invitation of her successor and predecessor, Jill Biden. According to the White House, she accompanied her husband to greet President-elect Trump upon his arrival at the White House this morning. He handed over a handwritten congratulatory letter to his wife, also expressing his team’s willingness to help with the transition.

Before being a politician, Trump was a television star, and his mastery of staging was evident in this return to the capital. His plane, nicknamed by him Trump Force One, landed at the Andrews base, from where he left four years ago to the rhythm of his favorite song, YMCA, by the Village People.

triumphant arrival

He disembarked down the stairs, as if he had never left, got into his limousine and began to receive. He was accompanied on the flight by billionaire Elon Musk, who advised him on the campaign and who has been commissioned to clean up the government to reduce unnecessary spending and bureaucracy.

First, the president-elect went to the Hyatt hotel, in the center of the capital, where the Republicans of the House of Representatives were meeting, who are planning their agenda after having achieved a majority of about five deputies, smaller than the one they had until elections.

There, Trump met with the person he has appointed ambassador to the UN, Elise Stefanik, representative of New York, and with the president of the House and second in line of succession, Louisiana representative Mike Johnson.

“What a victory, what a great result!” Trump congratulated himself. As he usually does, he took credit for himself and his party. “My numbers are the best in 129 years, this has been the most important election in 129 years, it has been a very, very good thing,” he said. [Cabe recordar que tanto Richard Nixon en 1972 como Ronald Reagan en 1980 y 1984 barrieron el colegio electoral en tres victorias mucho más contundentes].

Trump said he no longer plans to run again in a fourth election, because the Constitution limits him to two terms. “I suspect I won’t run again unless they say, ‘it’s so good, we have to find another way,'” he joked. To change the Constitution, two-thirds of the votes in both Houses of the Capitol are needed.

There is an air of vindication in the attitude of the Trump team. The Democrats denied him full legitimacy in his first term due to revelations of Russian interference and the loss of the direct vote, even though he won the electoral college.

Now they have no choice but to open the doors and facilitate entry into the White House for a man whose host this Wednesday, President Biden, has called a threat to democracy.

Neither Trump nor his wife collaborated in the transfer of powers to the Bidens.

There is an air of vindication in Trump’s team. In his first term, Democrats questioned his legitimacy due to revelations of Russian interference and his loss of the popular vote, although he won the electoral college. Now they have no choice but to open the doors to him and facilitate his entry into the White House, receiving a man that President Biden has described as a threat to democracy.