Donald Trump has been welcomed into the White House alongside his wife Melania by the Bidens.

Today (January 20) marks Trump‘s inauguration ceremony, but before he’s sworn into office for a second time, he and Melania were invited to the White House by President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill.

It’s an age-old tradition that the president and first lady invite their successors for tea before the new president-elect’s inauguration.

Following their meet-up, the foursome will travel to Trump’s inauguration ceremony in the same car. It’s thought they usually travel in two separate vehicles.

With Biden being a Democrat, and Trump a Republican, it’s safe to say that the pair haven’t always seen eye-to-eye when it comes to politics, but they seemingly put any bad blood aside at today’s meet.

When the Trumps arrived at the White House, Biden said, as per PEOPLE: “Welcome home!”

Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Melania Trump seen at the White House (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

While Biden has hosted a tea ceremony for Trump and his wife, the Republican didn’t do the same for him when Biden won the 2020 election.

In fact, Trump didn’t attend his then-successor’s inauguration altogether.

Trump and his family quickly jetted back to his home in Florida instead.

Ahead of today’s swearing-in ceremony, Trump has made a series of promises about what will happen when he returns to office.

One of the most notable plans of his is to delay the TikTok ban, which briefly came into force over the weekend before the app reemerged on people’s devices.

Joe Biden’s successor Donald Trump is being sworn into office today (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

When the video sharing platform went dark for a brief period, users were met with the following message: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”

And it wasn’t long until the app was working again, sparking people to suggest that the whole thing was simply a PR stunt.

One person said on social media: “This was such an obvious PR stunt to try to garner favor with Trump. They never had to take TikTok offline, and if they were legally required to, then nothing Trump said to them could have allowed them to restore service.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre echoed similar sentiments in the run up to TikTok’s deadline yesterday (January 19).

As Donald Trump prepares to be inaugurated to the White House a second time, we take a look at all changes he’s vowed to usher in.

The Republican Party leader is set to officially become the 47th US President, as he’s sworn into office in Washington DC later from 11.30am Eastern Time today (20 January).

From cryptocurrency to education and everything in between, here’s everything Donald Trump has promised to do as he returns to office…

Be a ‘dictator’

Donald Trump is the 47th President of the United States (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Trump admitted that one of his plans for his first day back in the Oval Office would be to be a ‘dictator’ when discussing the possibility of his win in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity last year.

He referred to himself as a ‘dictator’ during the interview, when asked by Hannity if he was promising to ‘never abuse power as retribution against anybody’.

In response, Trump said: “Except for Day 1.

“I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill. We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling,” he continued.

“After that, I’m not a dictator.”

Delay the TikTok ban

The TikTok ban has been delayed (TikTok/ Twitter/ @amyewong)

TikTok went dark yesterday (January 19), but it was bought back after mere hours with a message reading: “Welcome back! Thank you for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!

“You can continue to create, share and discover all the things you love on TikTok.”

Trump will reportedly sign an executive order to delay the ban saying he wants to ‘make a deal to protect our national security.’

Scrap ‘electric vehicle mandates’

Trump has vowed to scrap EV mandates (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Trump plans to scrap Biden administration’s so-called electric vehicle mandate, referring to new pollution standards that incentivize auto manufacturers to increase production of electric and lower-emission vehicles.

Despite vowing to get rid of the policy on his first day, Trump told podcaster Joe Rogan the move could take ‘maybe two days, because it’s a little bit busy’.

Make US ‘crypto capital’

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Back in 2021, Trump called crypto a ‘scam against the dollar.’ But four years on, he’s pulled a u-turn as he vowed to make the US the ‘crypto capital of the planet’.

On social media, Trump claimed crypto would be ‘mined, minted and made in the US’.

Both he and wife Melania released their own memecoins ahead of the inauguration, while experts previously predicted Bitcoin could reach up to $250,000 this year.

Trump also said he would ‘fire’ Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler ‘on day one’ – referencing the Joe Biden-appointed SEC chairman who has taken an aggressive approach to crypto regulation.

Free some of the January 6 rioters

Trump supporters clashed with police and security forces as they stormed the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021 (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

It was Trump’s loss in the 2020 election that led to the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, resulting in the arrests of a number of Trump supporters.

However, the president-elect told reporters on voting day this year that his supporters are ‘not violent people’, and that there would be ‘no violence’ surrounding the most recent election.

This belief echoes Trump’s previous claim that some of the people sentenced for their role in the insurrection were ‘wrongfully imprisoned’, and explains why he has shared plans to free them of their sentences as one of his first acts when he returns as president.

In a post shared on his social media channel, Trump said: “I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control.”

End Green Deals

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Five years after introducing the Green New Deal, we’ve helped secure the largest US investment to combat the climate crisis, launched the American Climate Corps, and more. And we’re just getting started.

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Trump has spoken previously about his plan to ‘terminate the Green New Deal’, which he dubbed the ‘Green New Scam’.

The Green New Deal was pitched by Democrats Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, but it was never signed into law. However, Trump has used the term to refer more generally to Joe Biden’s climate and energy policies.

Addressing the policies in a speech in September, Trump said: “To further defeat inflation, my plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam. Greatest scam in history, probably.

“We [will] rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act.

“I’m going to write it out in an executive order. It’s going to end on Day 1.”

Fire the man who indicted him

Trump faced two federal cases due to the insurrection (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Trump faced two federal cases in relation to the 2020 election result from special counsel Jack Smith, and the future POTUS has no plans to work with him again.

Speaking on October 24, Trump told the Hugh Hewitt show he would fire Smith ‘within two seconds’.

“He’ll be one of the first things addressed,” he said.

Plan over 100 executive orders

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It’s been reported by AP that Trump plans on preparing over 100 executive orders on his first day in the White House.

Trump’s allies have reportedly spent time preparing documents that Trump can sign quickly, on issues such as deportation, school gender policies, and vaccine mandates, without input from congress.

“There will be a substantial number,” said Senator John Hoeven, R-N.D.

Make hidden government files public

Trump has promised to increase government transparency, including information about MLK’s assassination (Alpha Historica / Alamy Stock Photo)

Including the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr., Trump promised at his recent rally in Washington D.C that, in a bid to increase government transparency, he will be making these disclosures in ‘the coming days’.

“And in the coming days, we are going to make public remaining records relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” he said.

Mass deportations

Trump, his wife Melania and their son Barron (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Making it clear this will be a priority from day one, Trump wants to start his second presidential reign by using the military to deport masses of undocumented immigrants.

In November 2024, Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton put these claims to social media, to which Trump simply replied: “TRUE!”

In a lengthier statement during a rally at Madison Square Garden, he said: “On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.

“I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.”

It’s thought the move will impact an estimated 11 million people.

Getting rid of birthright citizenship

Exactly as it sounds, Trump once declared he wanted to get rid of birthright citizenship, which immediately gives citizenship to anyone born in the US.

Noting that this may not be possible as it’s written into the constitution, he said he wants to achieve this by executive order – bypassing congress again – ‘if we can’.

Arrange green cards for college graduates

Despite making his stance on immigration clear, Trump has advocated for non-US citizens to receive green cards to stay in the country if they graduate from college.

During an episode of the ‘All In’ podcast recorded this year, Trump said: “Anybody graduates from a college, you go in there for two years or four years, if you graduate, or you get a doctorate degree from a college, you should be able to stay in this country […]

“Somebody graduates at the top of the class, they can’t even make a deal with the company because they don’t think they’re going to be able to stay in the country. That is going to end on Day 1.”

The ‘Make Greenland Great Again Act’

Trump has his sights set on Greenland (Juan Maria Coy Vergara/Getty Images)

In a bid that has not gone down well with Greenlanders – shocking – Trump has said he wants to buy Greenland, with Republican lawmakers having drawn up a bill which will allow Trump to start negotiations when he enters the White House January 20.

Taking to his social media platform Truth Social, he said: “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.

“Greenland is an incredible place. The people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, cherish it, from a very vicious outside World.

“MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”

Cut federal funding for schools educating on ‘inappropriate’ topics

Speaking early last year, Trump addressed a crowd in Iowa and made plans to ‘save [the] country from destruction’.

As part of this, the president-elect shared his plans to crack down on schools which include certain lessons about race, gender or politics.

“On day one, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity,” he said, per NPR.

Trump also said he would target schools pushing ‘any other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content on our children’.

Donald Trump has said the ‘golden age of America begins now’ as he’s sworn in as the 47th president.

The President is speaking inside the US Capitol building in Washington for his inauguration.

Trump arrived with his wife and incoming First Lady, Melania Trump, to St John’s Church, known as the ‘Church of the Presidents’, today (January 20) as he prepares to take on the role for the second time.

The President with wife, Melania, during his second inauguration (YouTube/ABC)

He has dubbed the day’s events as ‘liberation day’ for America, adding: “It is my hope that our recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country.”

In his speech, Trump also listed off figures including Vice President JD Vance and Justices of the US Supreme Court, as well as former presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama and now Joe Biden, and announced that ‘the golden age of America begins right now’.

Trump continued that he is ‘confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success’.

“Sunlight is pouring over the entire world and America has the chance to seize this opportunity like never before,” he added.

During his inaugural address, the President said he will ‘rebalance’ the ‘scales of justice’ during his term.

“The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and government will end,” CNN reports.

He also slammed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for his policies at home and abroad.

Former President Biden during the inauguration (ABC/YouTube)

Trump said: “We now have a government that cannot manage a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumble into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad.

“We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people.”

Trump also highlighted some of the executive orders he will sign and take on as president, including an end to the ‘Green New Deal’ and the ‘electric vehicle mandate’ while tackling inflation.

He claimed in his speech that the US is in a ‘national energy emergency’, promising to ‘drill, baby, drill’ as well as bring down rocketing costs and provide ‘tax cuts for American workers’.

The 78-year-old is the oldest person to be elected to the presidency and will be the oldest president in US history by the end of his term.

Touching his assassination attempt during the campaign trial, Trump claims his life was ‘saved by God’ to ‘make America great again’.

His speech comes as part of the age-old tradition, during which the president-elect recites an oath while the vice-president will also be sworn in by repeating the same oath of office that has been in use since 1884.

The future of TikTok hangs in the balance ahead of its pending US ban tomorrow (January 19).

Last year, President Biden vowed to ban the app in America because it was alleged that the popular video sharing platform poses ‘a national-security threat of immense depth and scale’, due to its parent company ByteDance.

The Chinese company was then told that it would have to sell TikTok for users in the States to continue accessing the app — which is said to be used by 170 million Americans.

Adding an additional blow to TikTok’s already bleak-looking feature in the US, the country’s Supreme Court upheld its ruling yesterday (January 17) of banning the app should a sale not take place before tomorrow.

As to what will happen to the app should the ban go through, TikTok will simply ‘go dark’.

The company said in a statement, as per Mail Online: “Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.”

TikTok may ‘go dark’ in America from tomorrow (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

While the Supreme Court upheld its ruling, the Biden Administration has backtracked on its plans.

A US official, who spoke out on the basis of remaining anonymous, said that Biden wants to leave the decision up to president-elect Donald Trump, who will be sworn into office on Monday (January 20).

And Trump and his advisors have already revealed the upcoming president’s intentions of saving the app.

Congressman and Florida Republican Mike Waltz said in recent days: “We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark.”

He further noted that TikTok is eligible for a 90-day extension if ByteDance show some progress towards a potential sale, BBC News reported.

Waltz said that this ‘buys President Trump time to keep TikTok going’.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to save the app (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In regards to users’ thoughts of banning TikTok, there have been protests about saving the app.

There’s also been online petitions about saving it, with one amassing over 350,000 signatures as of Thursday (January 16), said Newsweek.

Part of the petition read: “We petition that the United States government work with TikTok and its parent company ByteDance to solve their concerns without taking away an app that provides so much enjoyment, education, and community for millions of Americans.

“We must act now to let our politicians know that they cannot and should not control what we can see, hear, and share.”