Joe and Jill Biden may have waited to enter the White House longer than necessary on the day of the inauguration because there was no staff to receive them.
In a breach of the White House protocol, the new president and first lady were left in front of closed doors while taking pictures outside their new home for the first time on Wednesday.
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The Trumps “sent the butlers home when they left, so there was no one to help the Biden when they arrived,” a well-placed official not associated with the Biden government told the National Journal.
Doorman Timothy Harleth was also fired by the Trumps before leaving on Wednesday morning, the publication reports. White House press secretary Jen Psak later confirmed that Harleth Exit occurred “before we entered the door.”
A video of the Bidens’ arrival shows them in front of the doors of the White House for a photo shoot, which lasted more than a minute before they walked towards the residence.
The doors then opened for the couple, although it is not clear in the video whether they were opened inside or out.
A veteran White House social expert told The National Journal that it is “a major protocol violation for the president to stand in front of a closed door at the White House.”
“This may be why there was no one to open the doors for the Bidens. You couldn’t expect the Biden team to know how to do that. Doors are opened and closed by doormen. There are rules about all these things and everyone has their job,” they added.
Read More: More than 1 million people attended Biden’s inauguration than Trump’s
However, a former White House official told the publication that the couple’s team may have specifically requested that the doors be closed for the photo.
“But what should have happened is that a member of Biden’s team should have alerted the doorman or the employee on the other side of the door that it was time to open it. That was a mistake by the team, ”they said.
Biden’s entry was a complete contrast to Trump’s first visit to the White House on the day of his inauguration, four years earlier.
On January 20, 2017, Donald and Melanie Trump were welcomed by former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, who posed for photos with the couple before entering the building together through open doors.
Trump broke the tradition by choosing not to attend Biden’s inauguration ceremony last week. Instead, the former president gave a brief farewell speech at Andrews Joint Base before flying to South Florida with his wife.
President Biden’s representatives did not immediately respond to the Business Insider’s request for comment.