Hours after signing pardons intended to shield some of Donald Trump’s political enemies from prosecution, Joe Biden greeted the incoming president at the White House with a warm “Welcome home!”
The moment captured by reporters is emblematic of the strange pomp of Inauguration Day 2025, with a former president returning to the White House after four years away for the first time since the 19th century. And Trump is coming back to a Washington full of glee and anxiety, unsure of what exactly the next days and months will have in store from a president who has promised radical change.
“I feel like a kid on Christmas morning, and we’re about to see some really great changes for all Americans and for the world,” said Kari Lake, the Arizona Republican who Trump picked to head Voice of America.