Perhaps this story should start with the steps. The escalator steps in New York, where it all began in June 2015 with Donald Trump loudly proclaiming his candidacy. And the steps of the US Capitol, where the circle will be closed on Friday. He will stand atop those steps to take the oath of office, his right hand raised and his words a promise to the American people. Hillary Clinton will be on hand, while many members of Congress will avoid the ceremony. Behind Trump will be the white-domed Capitol building. Before him lies the city in which pledges to honor democracy and protect freedom are made manifest in stone monuments. In the distance is the Pentagon, the nerve center of the huge military machine for which he will be commander-in-chief. The stage has long been set up. Plastic seats for guests are in place, as well as dozens of portable toilets. January is strange in Washington. Sometimes snow falls, sometimes it smells of spring. It rains one morning a few days before the inauguration. The sky is gray over the Capitol, the American flags hang limply. A double-decker bus rolls from one tourist site to the next, its observation deck empty. Pennsylvania Avenue cuts like a tangent from the Capitol to the White House. It is along here that the parade will deliver Trump to the White House after the inauguration. He will travel past the Newseum, a formidable glass building dedicated to the media. Emblazoned on its facade are the words of the first amendment to the US Constitution, forbidding Congress from passing laws restricting free expression or freedom of the press. Trump has called journalists the lowest form of life. He leaves their questions unanswered as he berates and insults them. The parade then travels by the National Archives, in which the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights sit behind bulletproof glass. Some doubt if Trump has ever read these founding documents. Among the archives are communications from former presidents to European politicians, like a letter from John F Kennedy to then-Berlin mayor Willy Brandt in 1962. They are relics of another time. Trump conducts foreign policy in 140 characters. The fruits of this were recently on display when the Russian embassy in Washington re-tweeted Trump's flattering words about Russian president Vladimir Putin not expelling US diplomats. The FBI headquarters are also nearby. FBI director James Comey played a not-irrelevant role in the recent election. In the summer he initiated an investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails. Just days before the vote he sent a surprise letter to senators saying new emails had been discovered that required investigation - all quite damaging to Clinton. One of the oddities of the parade will be the new president next passing by a building sporting his own name in gold letters. The hotel in the old Post Office building is the latest prestige project of the Trump empire. With its rough masonry and turrets, it resembles a fortress. Inside, furniture in the style of Louis XIV can be found: a lot of gold, marble and velvet. The chandeliers are made of crystal. Trump has promised to completely pull out of his businesses while in office. But instead of putting his companies in a blind trust, he will instead avoid foreign investment while ceding control to his sons. Experts consider this woefully inadequate. These days diplomats frequent the hotel - likely in the hopes of building political capital. Even before the election inauguration packages were advertised. A five-night stay in the townhouse suite over the inauguration costs half a million dollars. A banner with "Welcome, Mr President" hangs on building across the street. A souvenir shop carries miniature Trumps and T-shirts with his likeness. Cups with Hillary Clinton's face are 75 per cent off. Shortly before the final destination the street makes another turn past the Treasury building, where the IRS tax authority resides. To this day Trump has refused to release his tax returns. Just a few more meters, and he will be there. The White House sits there as if in a painting. Powerful and exalted. Expectant.
