Readership Capture

The time has finally come for President Trump to find a space at Mar-a-Lago for his $50,000 room-size golf simulator, his collection of Brioni suits and the first lady’s matching Louis Vuitton luggage she has hauled around the globe. @anniekarni https://t.co/LG0mwgAsDb

— Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) January 19, 2021

… By Wednesday at 12:01 p.m., hours after Mr. Trump himself plans to leave Washington, all the first family’s stuff will have followed him out the White House door, en route to his new home in Palm Beach, Fla. And by the end of the day Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill, will arrive to a deep-cleaned living quarters where their bags will be unpacked, their furniture arranged and their favorite foods stocked in the fridge.

It’s the awkward pas de deux performed every four or eight years when one family moves in and another moves out, an undertaking carried out by the 90-person White House residence staff in about five hours. A complicated, highly choreographed process is done on a tight schedule that often requires boxing up whatever has been left unpacked — some outgoing presidents are more prepared to leave the executive mansion than others.

This year, people involved in the process said, moving day also involves additional cleaning and safety precautions because of the coronavirus…

The Bidens were never invited to meet the residence staff, or canvass the second floor of the White House, which has 16 rooms and six bathrooms and will now be their home. Michelle Obama, by contrast, had been through the White House twice at the invitation of Mrs. Bush before her husband’s 2009 inauguration.

“Mrs. Trump should have invited Dr. Biden in for the traditional coffee,” said Capricia Marshall, who served as White House social secretary in the Clinton administration and oversaw that president’s departure in 2001, referring to Melania Trump, the first lady. “Typically, she would come prepared with questions, she’ll meet and talk to the chef, the full time residence staff and have an opportunity for them to break the ice. It’s a courtesy, but logistically it’s incredibly helpful. That didn’t happen.”…

“The good news is there’s a process, there’s a checklist,” Ms. McBride said. “The staff knows what they need to do. And the Bidens know the building, they know the people. They’ve been there plenty.”

Theme for the (first) Biden Administration: No panic, we’ve done this before.

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(Literal) Housekeeping (At the White House) Open ThreadPost + Comments (103)

“We’re fortunate that Joe’s got what it takes to be President and already carries himself that way,” former President Barack Obama said in a statement congratulating Joe Biden. https://t.co/u1ubqVPaDT pic.twitter.com/eKNGqFTds4

— CNN (@CNN) November 7, 2020

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Monday Morning Open Thread: Readership Capture, AgainPost + Comments (218)