Donald Trump's Cruel Inauguration Day Actions Have Twitter In An Uproar
Typically, there's a peaceful transition of power when a new U.S. president starts their term. This time around, traditions and protocols typically expected to occur just didn't happen. For instance, Donald Trump skipped Joe Biden's inauguration. Neither Donald nor his wife Melania Trump met with Joe or Jill Biden to welcome them to the White House. Plus, Donald didn't even concede the election or congratulate his opponent. Instead, he contested the results and falsely cited voter fraud. And unfortunately, there are even more items to add to that list.
A source told National Journal that the Trumps sent home White House staff members on the morning they left. Apparently, "the Trumps sent the butlers home when they left so there would be no one to help the Bidens when they arrived," which was described as "so petty." One Twitter user shared similar sentiments, describing the move as "petty, cruel, crude, vindictive, [and] small." Another said, "It's cruel of trump to send the staff away, but that's what cruel does."
When the Bidens arrived at the White House, they waved to the press and posed for some pictures, standing in front of the doors for over a minute. It wasn't because they wanted to make sure they got the perfect picture. It was actually because there was no one inside to open the door for them. Thankfully, it didn't come across as awkward as it sounds, and at least the extra time ensured that they would get some good photos.
Why Joe and Jill Biden didn't get the typical White House welcome
While it didn't seem like a big deal for Joe and Jill Biden to be standing in front of the White House doors, a veteran White House social expert told National Journal in January 2021, "It's a big protocol breach for the president to ever stand in front of a closed door at the White House."
The source went on to claim that Donald Trump's decision to fire chief usher Timothy Harleth right before Joe's term started probably contributed to the lack of organization, remarking, "That may be why there was nobody to open the doors to the Bidens. You couldn't expect the Biden staff to know to do that. Doors are opened and closed by ushers. There are rules about all these things and everyone has their job."
Aside from the very last-minute staff changes during Trump's final morning as president, he fired some long-time staff members from the first lady's East Wing team. White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that Harleth's firing "happened before [they] walked in the door."
In the grand scheme of things, if waiting for a door to open is the worst thing to come out of this transition between presidents, then Joe's term got off to a great start.