He left angry and defeated on a morning in January 2021, he returns in triumph and determined to upset the very fabric of the state, judging by the people he has already announced he will appoint: Donald Trump will meet today at the White House with Joe Biden, who has promised a smooth transition.

The outgoing Democratic president is expected to meet with his Republican predecessor and successor at 11:00 local time (18:00 Greek time) in the Oval Office, where the 78-year-old Trump will return after his inauguration on January 20, 2025.

Joe Biden promised last week, after Trump’s landslide victory, to ensure a “peaceful and orderly” transfer of power.

The outgoing president “believes in the rules, he believes in the institutions”, his spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said yesterday on Tuesday.

The Republican’s visit to the White House is expected to be humiliating for the Democrat, who knows that much of the policies he has adopted will be overturned by his opponent’s team.

Trump has already started to announce some names of people who will take important positions in his new administration. Among them is the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who will head a new Ministry of Government Efficiency alongside businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

If these three Republican businessmen agree, they may proceed with drastic cuts to the US federal budget.

After all, for Trump, the meeting with Biden will have a strong flavor of revenge.

He closed the White House door behind him on January 20, 2020, just hours before Biden was sworn in and didn’t even attend his inauguration.

The Republican also had not arranged a matching visit for Biden when he was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, breaking a decades-old tradition in Washington.

Trump still believes the 2020 election was rigged.

According to Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Trump may also visit the Capitol today. There his party has already won control of the Senate and is on track to win a majority in the House of Representatives as well.

With the Supreme Court taking a conservative turn, after appointing three conservative justices during Trump’s first presidency, the Republican will have a leeway in his second term.

EM