Wonder what really goes on within the confines of the nation's executive mansion? From million-dollar renovations and staff selection to the new POTUS' daily routine and surprising working style, not to mention what Trump left behind and what President Biden thought of it. We spill the beans on President Biden's White House. Click or scroll on to uncover the secrets of the new commander-in-chief's estate...

It turns out that President Biden's early days at the White House were plagued with discomfort. Revealed in Peril, a new book by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, details have emerged of the President's first days in his new digs. The book claims that due to the lack of social events because of coronavirus, Biden was left feeling lonely and isolated, with Biden instead preferring to spend time with his grandchildren in Delaware. He also likened his new home to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and nicknamed it 'the tomb'. 

In his early days as president, Biden was also troubled with remnants of his predecessor, leaving him in an unpleasant mood. The book claims that Trump spent his days in the White House surrounded by 'toys', including a giant video screen where he virtually played golf. It was reportedly installed in 2019 at a cost of $50,000 (£36k). When the POTUS saw Trump's 'toys' he reportedly exclaimed 'what a f****** a*******!'. 

Most recently, the President hosted UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson in an Oval Office meeting. Johnson was there to speak with Biden about Northern Ireland, climate change and Afghanistan, as well as discussing the issue of a free trade deal "a little bit" during the 90-minute meeting. However, Johnson took questions from two UK reporters during the meeting, something that he hadn't warned Biden he would do, leaving him to ignore questions from the press. The White House reportedly was forced to deny that the POTUS felt upstaged amongst the chaotic scenes. 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last year that President Trump would be “fumigated out” if he refused to leave the White House post-election. And while it thankfully didn't come to that, the incoming administration spent a reported $127,000 (£92k) on a scrupulous deep clean of the executive mansion, which hosted a COVID superspreader event in September 2020 and was hit by a serious outbreak in the fall and winter.

Not taking any chances, the new administration went all out in January, making sure every single one of the 132 rooms and 55,000 square feet of floor space that make up the presidential residence and workplace were 100% COVID-free, with an additional $44,000 (£32k) dropped on deep cleaning all the carpets in the building.

In readiness for President Biden's first real day at work, the White House's Oval Office was given a revamp more in keeping with the 46th POTUS' personal taste. Out went Trump's glitzy sunburst rug and in came a deep blue carpet that graced the room in the Clinton years. The new president did however opt to keep much of the Trump décor including the Resolute Desk, Clinton yellow drapes, brocade wallpaper, and Bush-era cream-hued sofas.

Famously ditched by President Obama, the Winston Churchill bust by Jacob Epstein was restored to the Oval Office by President Trump, but the new leader of the free world once again jettisoned the sculpture of the wartime British prime minister, replacing it with a bust of labour activist Cesar Chavez.

Several icons of the civil rights movement are honoured in the Biden Oval Office, which now features a bust of Rosa Parks, complementing the sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr by Charles Alston that has been on display in the room since the Obama years. Another depicts Eleanor Roosevelt, the much-loved first lady who was an early champion of equal rights for African Americans and other marginalised groups.

Former President Trump is a big fan of populist president Andrew Jackson, a slave-owner who pursued a policy of forcibly removing Native Americans from their ancestral lands, which resulted in thousands of deaths. Needless to say, the new POTUS didn't waste any time putting the Jackson portrait and statue Trump had adorned the office with into storage. In their place are a painting of Benjamin Franklin and a sculpture by Chiricahua Apache artist Allan Houser.

Portraits of arch-rivals Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson are paired to symbolise “how differences of opinion... are essential to democracy.” Other new additions include a bust of President JFK, a dreamy painting by impressionist artist Childe Hassam, and a lunar rock collected by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972.

On chilly days, the president likes to have a fire built in the Oval Office hearth to create a cosy vibe in his office, and on occasion enjoys throwing on a log himself to stoke up the flames. Among his predecessors, Richard Nixon was such a big fan of log fires, he'd have them blazing in the summer with the AC humming. All in all, there are 35 working fireplaces in the White House, which are meticulously maintained by a team of chimney sweeps. 

The first family's private quarters consist of a number of rooms on the second floor including the president's private sitting room, dining room and bedroom, and just two other bedrooms, the Queens' Bedroom and the Lincoln Bedroom. The Bidens' makeover of this space has been kept under wraps, but given their taste, which is far less flashy than the Trump's as you can see from this pic of Jill Biden at home in Delaware, the décor is likely to be homely and down to earth.

Jill Biden is overseeing an extensive renovation of the East Wing, which houses the offices of the first lady and her staff. According to TMZ, the upgrade of the restrooms alone was projected to cost $1.2 million (£870k), though there won't be any sign of President Trump's favoured gold-plated toilets no doubt. Shown here is a photo of a West Wing bathroom to give you an idea as to how the décor might look.

Melania Trump fronted an anti-cyberbullying drive but generally kept a low profile as first lady. In contrast, Jill Biden is taking a more active role, which could partly explain the East Wing refurb, as she gets involved in everything from the Olympics to campaigning for military families and supporting cancer research, on top of working as an educator. In fact, as the first FLOTUS to hold a paid job outside the White House, Jill Biden is reshaping the role.

Critics lambasted Melania Trump's “evisceration” last year of the Jackie Kennedy-designed Rose Garden. The changes the ex-FLOTUS made, which included replacing colourful blooms with muted flowers and removing several cherry and crab apple trees, were widely derided. Since then, a Change.org petition calling for Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to restore the garden to its former glory has attracted more than 80,000 signatures.

Still, the first lady says she enjoys walking past the roses with her dogs in the morning, not that the challenge of overhauling the Rose Garden would be tough for her. Quite the keen gardener, the FLOTUS, seen here planting a linden tree for Arbor Day, has created a little floral cutting garden in the White House grounds. "If I go to visit somebody, I can make them a bouquet,” she told Vogue for her August issue cover story.

Staying with security issues, the White House Secret Service detail was shaken up to get rid of agents seen as loyal to the former president and bring in senior staff the new POTUS had worked with during his veep days. Rumour has it the problematic agents had been reportedly urging their colleagues not to wear face masks.

An early riser, the president leaps out of bed and makes a beeline for the gym. The White House workout room is located on the third floor of the presidential property. Formerly an elegant sitting room and 'blue toile' guestroom, it was converted into a gym by the Clintons. Michelle Obama is shown here working out in the space.

Without fail, President Biden works out five days a week and doesn't slack off when it comes to breaking out in a sweat, opting for high-intensity sessions that combine cardio with resistance training. The leader of the free world complements his gym workouts with golf, an interest he shares with Presidents Trump and Obama, as well as weekend bike rides with his wife.

Last year, the president revealed one of his daily workout schedules, and it isn't for the faint-hearted. Starting with five minutes on the rowing machine and 30 minutes on the exercise bike, the session moves on to two sets of 23 bicep curls lifting a hefty 45 pounds or more, crunches, tricep pull-down cables, hammer curls, tricep skull crushers and 23 jumping jacks.

Joe Biden raised eyebrows after a report emerged in 2014 that he had a habit of swimming naked in the pools at the veep's residence and Delaware home in full view of female Secret Service agents, some of whom were said to have been offended. The White House has a swimming pool in use on the South Lawn and an indoor one that is covered, though it's unlikely the new POTUS continues to skinny dip.

In fact, the president appears to be far more modest around his Secret Service detail these days. Breaking with protocol, he asks agents to keep out of his room at breakfast time because he isn't dressed properly, preferring to relax in his robe and enjoy some private time with his wife away from prying eyes.

After breakfast, which could be a protein shake or even a hearty lumberjack breakfast depending on the day, the president often walks the first pets, German shepherds Champ and Major, before making his way over to the West Wing and into the Oval Office, arriving between sometime around nine o'clock in the morning and always carrying his trusty brown leather briefcase.

Once happily ensconced in the West Wing, President Biden can rest assured he has built the most diverse administration in history. As well as choosing the first African American and South Asian woman to serve as his veep, the new POTUS has a record number of minority cabinet appointees, and 58% of his White House staff and 44% of the senior positions are made up of women, the highest level for any US government. 

The new president hasn't held back when it comes to hiring staff. According to a Forbes analysis from July 2021, the payroll for the workforce of 567 could top $200 million (£145m) over four years, well above the bill for the previous two administrations. In July, there were 190 more employees than at the same juncture in the presidency under President Trump, and 80 more than under President Obama.

Despite the bulging payroll, the White House has never been quieter these past few months due to the pandemic and the legions of employees working remotely. Attendees at an event held there in March 2021 reportedly said the West Wing was “ghostly quiet”, significantly less busy than they would have expected it to be, and that the atmosphere was reminiscent of a snow day.

Members of the previous administration are said to have frequently flouted COVID precautions, eschewing masks, holding meetings indoors, and not sticking to social distancing guidelines, including President Trump. The current government is nowhere near as lax, with rules, including the use of masks, strongly adhered to. Even the water glasses are now sealed with paper covers stamped with the presidential seal to help protect staff and guests.

The list of White House staff may be never-ending, but interns, who have long been a common sight in the West Wing and elsewhere, are nowhere to be seen at the current time, unlike during the Trump administration when the corridors were teeming with them. The case of the missing interns can of course be explained by the pandemic, which has precipitated a hiring freeze that could last until the fall.

A New York Times article published in May 2021 revealed via reliable sources that the new commander-in-chief is obsessed with details and has something of a quick temper lurking behind his sunny demeanor, but “never erupts into fits of rage” like President Trump. This short fuse can be put down the new POTUS' lack of patience and eagerness to get things done.

A hardcore TV addict, President Trump watched hours of cable news a day, at one time staying glued to the screen for seven hours each morning, meaning he didn't arrive at the Oval Office until noon. The new POTUS is no such TV fan and though the screens President Trump installed in the Oval Office Dining Room and Roosevelt Room are still there, they're hardly ever on during the day, bar for virtual meetings.

A humble small-town boy at heart, President Biden isn't big on pomp and circumstance. Unlike his predecessor, he has bemoaned the lack of privacy in the White House, calling it a “gilded cage”, and is uneasy with staff waiting on him hand and foot, commenting that it makes him feel “self-conscious”.

The president has retained many key hospitality staff, however, including Cristeta Comerford, who has been White House Head Chef since 2005. While he was no stranger to grabbing lunch on the go on the campaign trail in 2020 (pictured here), according to The New York Times, Biden now takes a 30-minute lunch break and the kitchen prepares him a rotation of salad, soup, and sandwiches. He usually eats alone on account of the pandemic, but does dine with Vice President Harris once a week.

As one former aide put it, the new POTUS has the food tastes of a young child. Like the former president, he has a penchant for fast food, but prefers Dairy Queen and Whataburger over McDonald's, and enjoys tucking into pasta with red sauce for dinner, while his wife will dine on healthier grilled chicken or fish. The new leader of the free world has a major sweet tooth too.

Given the president doesn't drink or smoke, his number one vice is ice cream, which he adores, particularly vanilla chocolate chip Häagen-Dazs and Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream – the Biden campaign is said to have spent $10,000 (£7.3k) on supplies of the latter iced dessert. The POTUS' drink of choice is orange Gatorade but he's partial to Coke Zero as well, while the first lady is said to be fond of a glass of wine or two, with a caterer who worked for the couple describing her as a connoisseur of vino: “an oenophile to the first degree.”

Other favourites include the FLOTUS' chicken parm, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, and copious amounts of candy. Be that as it may, unlike his predecessor the president doesn't dodge the salads and other healthy fare, but staff have reportedly been instructed not to serve leafy greens at events in case he gets any stuck in his teeth.

Even more so than President Trump, the new POTUS likes to spend his weekends away from the executive mansion, which he sees as more of a “Monday to Friday kind of place”. During his first 29 weekends in office, the commander-in-chief had 14 weekends away at Camp David and eight in Maryland, more than any other president at this point in their administration.

Author Michael Wolff wrote in his bombshell book on President Trump's last days in office that the outgoing POTUS never ventured upstairs to the second floor and had never taken the stairs. President Biden however climbs the staircase that leads to the private quarters each evening after he's finished work for the day.

Whereas Presidents Trump and Obama were night owls – Trump would stay up into the early hours watching TV, while Obama had a habit of reading briefing papers well past midnight – President Biden wakes up at the crack of dawn and prefers to retire early, hitting the sack not long after dinner and decompression time.

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