Last-minute pardons for Donald Trump's innocent enemies a worrying sign for future

However, despite the pleasantries, Biden also did something that outraged Trump and was utterly unprecedented in US history: he pardoned a number of innocent people in an attempt to prevent them from being wrongly prosecuted out of revenge by the new administration.

There were pardons for the members of a House of Representatives’ committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, which many blame Trump for inciting. For General Mark Milley, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who described Trump as “fascist to the core". And for Dr Anthony Fauci, the health official who helped lead the US response to Covid but annoyed Trump by refusing to back his various unfounded claims and who became the focus of anger from those who felt masks and other infection-control methods infringed their rights.

Just rhetoric?

There were even pardons for police officers who resisted the mob of Trump supporters on January 6 and later testified about what happened to the House committee. In stark contrast, Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 rioters.

Biden’s pardons, which he stressed did not mean the people involved had done anything wrong, sparked concern from some that he had set a precedent which Trump could abuse. For his part, Trump wrote in a text message to NBC News: “It is disgraceful. Many are guilty of MAJOR CRIMES!”

Of course, Trump’s rhetoric may be just that – as serious as his suggestions that Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the 2016 election, should be jailed.

Nonetheless, several of those given a pardon clearly took the threat seriously. One of the police officers, Harry Dunn, said: “Unfortunately, the political climate we are in now has made the need for one somewhat of a reality.” Fauci said he had committed no crime but “the mere articulation of these baseless threats, and the potential that they will be acted upon, create immeasurable and intolerable distress for me and my family”.

Trump the peacemaker?

In America and across the world, people are trying to work out what Trump 2.0 will be like. Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg about secret “mini-Cabinet” meetings held by Keir Starmer and senior ministers to prepare for Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, one insider told her that there had not been too much planning for all the various scenarios because “you'd drive yourself crazy” trying to guess what he is going to do.

However, if Trump does try to use the Justice Department to go after political opponents who have done nothing wrong, this would be a sign that Milley is right. Trump’s attitude towards the Ukraine War, a struggle between tyranny and democracy, will provide another key test.

Trump’s re-election appears to have had a beneficial effect on peace talks in the Middle East. If he can help find a path to peace in Ukraine, so much the better. But if that means forcing Kyiv to accept defeat, we will know Trump’s occasional friendly remarks about Putin have deeper meaning.

Starmer, John Swinney and other political leaders have no choice but to try to work with Trump – the health of our economy may depend upon it. However, they must also be alive to signs he has crossed a fundamental line and that we are all now living in a very different and very dangerous world.