In just five hours, an entire army of support staff will have to prepare the White House for the new tenants, Joe and Jill Biden. Outgoing President Donald Trump is expected to move out around 8 a.m. local time, after which a complicated operation will begin to clean up and prepare a number of White House rooms for the new president and his wife.

While doing so, Trump will travel to his new home in Mar-a-Lago, which is already ready for him, which is specially for the occasion bought a new $ 60 50.000-inch TV and simulator. In addition, a collection of costumes was sent to Florida, as well as Melania Trump's luggage packed in luxury suitcases by Louis Vuitton.

Every change of tenants in the White House is a complicated operation, but this one is now even bigger because the Trump family did not follow the usual procedure. Namely, it is common for the family leaving the White House to invite those who are about to enter for consideration, and this is especially true for the first ladies. Melania Trump did not follow that custom, so there is no invitation for Mrs. Biden to consider her future home.

The cases of Donald Trump and Melania are already packed and waiting for the White House to be transferred to Palm Beach. When everything is taken out, and it will be this morning, a big cleaning action begins, so that Joe and Jill Biden can enter the clean rooms and put the food in the fridge. This is a common procedure every four or eight years, depending on how long the president has been in the White House, and it is estimated that a team doing this with 90 people needs several hours of thorough cleaning.

This year, it's all the more complicated due to the special measures around the coronavirus, and Anita McBridge, who was Laura Bush's chief of staff, said it was always chaotic, no matter what was known in advance. Things to come with the Biden family will remain in vans until the new president is sworn in. Until then, there is no unloading, although much has already been brought to the White House. Some of the items are stored in warehouses, and some will be brought in the next few days when Biden has already moved. It is estimated that Ms and Mr Biden will be able to say they are "in their house" late this afternoon as staff try to fully organize at least a few rooms.

So far, Biden has not visited the second floor, which has 16 rooms and six bathrooms, where they will live in the future. Of course, Biden has known the White House well since he was vice president and when Barack Obama's family lived there, but now everything is different. Each presidential family adapts the White House to itself, and so did the Trump people. If relations were not strained and Trump did not rage from the moment he lost the election, it would be logical for Biden to be invited to see the premises in which he will live, as Michelle Obama, at the invitation of Mrs. Bush, visited the White House twice. before moving there.

The traditional coffee of the former and future first lady is missing this year. Thus, there is no meeting of Mrs. Biden with the cooks and the permanent staff, nor that kind conversation of two women. The only thing that is known is that Melania has been preparing to move out for a long time, together with her son Baron, while Trump told everyone that he is a winner and that he will not move out.

However, Joe Biden's transition team has been in contact with Trump aides, but no details are known about what they discussed and what they agreed on.

There is a great fear of the virus, and there were even suggestions that the president should not move to the White House immediately, but that the premises should be thoroughly cleaned for days. Thus, the advisers to the new president wanted the Biden family to spend their first days in a nearby boarding house, but this was eventually rejected because it would be complicated and for security reasons.

At first, Biden will bring only the most important things to the White House, and the actual arrangement of the rooms will begin later. Ms. Biden will have the key word here, as the president will deal with many other things. The New York Times quotes many who have taken care of the White House arrangement and now claim that everyone needs days to make beds, make bedrooms, and then follow a detailed arrangement that includes the placement of art objects.

As the inauguration will be shorter this year, the Biden family is expected to arrive at the White House earlier.

This year there is no parade or holiday lunch, so all this will shorten the time for renovation of the White House.

Trump himself further complicated all this, because not so long ago it was thought that he would be barricaded in the White House. The presidents who had two terms knew exactly when they were leaving, they could have planned earlier, and this time it was not the case.

Trump did not even want to participate in the packaging process, unlike Bill Clinton who put things together with his butlers on the last day. Barack Obama also took an active part in the eviction, putting everything he left from the White House in boxes with his wife Michelle.

It is unclear whether Trump will say goodbye to White House staff, as it is known that he did not have a harmonious relationship with them. Everyone is just hoping to get out before eight o'clock, so there will be more time to clear up.

It will be easier with Biden, because they know the staff and the White House well, and they are much less complicated than those with Trump.

Biden also had a very good relationship with the staff when he was vice president, both with him and with the staff that cared for President Obama, so this is sure to continue now.

This time there will be no talks between the outgoing president and the incoming president, just as Trump will not be at the inauguration. When he moved to the White House, he had a long conversation with Barack Obama in the Oval Office, which lasted 90 minutes.

Source: MIA