Donald Trump and Joe Biden arrived at the White House for a meeting on Wednesday, as the former Republican president and now president-elect prepares to take back the presidency in just over two months. I arrived.
In very brief remarks to the press at the beginning of the meeting, the two presidents sat in front of a lit fireplace in the Oval Office and pledged, among other things, a smooth transition of power, the second time between them. .
The first meeting of 2020 was marked by a break with tradition, with Trump refusing to invite Biden to the very meeting the current president had invited his predecessor and current successor on Wednesday. Biden, meanwhile, has vowed to uphold presidential tradition, urging Americans to accept the results and ensuring an orderly transition of power in his first public remarks since last week’s election.
Biden began his remarks Wednesday by saying, “As we have said, we look forward to a smooth transition of power,” and went on to say that the White House will “do everything we can to make sure that your wishes are accommodated.” added. need. ”
President Trump responded, “Politics is tough. A lot of times it’s not a very good world, but today it’s a good world and I’m very grateful.” “It couldn’t have been a smoother transition.”
The sitting president on Wednesday congratulated Trump on Biden’s election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris and welcomed him back to the White House.
“Welcome home,” Biden said.
Trump responded, “Thank you very much,” and ended his remarks by calling the president “Joe.”
Wednesday’s meeting was attended by Biden’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients, and Susie Wiles, whom Trump nominated for the same role in the White House just last week after the election. The president-elect remained at the White House for nearly two hours in total, beginning his sit-in with Biden in the Oval Office at 11:07 p.m. ET and leaving the grounds just after 1 p.m. ET.
The White House said President Trump was greeted by first lady Jill Biden when he arrived on Wednesday and handed him a handwritten note to give to his wife, Melania Trump. The former first lady and now first lady-elect did not appear at the White House on Wednesday, bucking tradition.
Biden and Trump only mentioned discussing the transition in brief remarks to the press, but current White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS News on Sunday that the president He said he would touch on the most important domestic and foreign policy issues.
Sullivan said of foreign policy issues, “including what’s happening in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.” “Then the president will explain to President Trump how he sees things, where he stands, and talk about how President Trump plans to address these issues once he takes office. You will have an opportunity.”
Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters late Wednesday that the meeting was “very cordial, very polite and substantive.” She noted that President Trump had prepared a “series of detailed questions.”
Jean-Pierre added that the length of the two-hour meeting “suggests that there were in-depth discussions on a variety of issues.”
The last time the political rivals are believed to have met was during a 9/11 memorial service in New York in September of this year. Before that, the two men had met on the debate stage in June, an incident that ultimately led to Biden withdrawing from the 2024 race against Trump under pressure from some within his party. This was the trigger.
Trump frequently railed against Democrats for what they did to Biden during the remainder of the 2024 campaign, in part because the current president is an easier candidate to challenge in the general election. It is possible that he was thinking that.
Despite Biden repeatedly warning during both his 2020 campaign and his short-lived 2024 campaign that President Trump was a threat to American institutions, the president said in his remarks last week that He sought to assure the public that democracy would prevail and emphasized the legitimacy of American elections. It doesn’t matter who wins.
Biden said Thursday of the 2024 election results: “To state the obvious: I know that for some people it’s a time of victory, but for others it’s a time of defeat.” Ta. “We accept the country’s choice.”
President Trump has not acknowledged losing the 2020 election to Biden and has falsely claimed there was fraud. A group of his supporters also stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, disrupting the certification of the results.
Trump, the first president since Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s to serve two non-consecutive terms, joined his predecessor Barack Obama in the White House in 2016, when he “It’s a great honor,” he said.
Trump marked his stunning victory and returned to Washington on Wednesday, marking the first time the president-elect is known to have left Florida, where he spent election night since his victory was declared. The president started his day by stopping by a House Republican conference. He touted last week’s results at a hotel near the Capitol.
“I want to thank you all. You’ve been great,” President Trump told assembled House Republicans on Wednesday morning. “We worked with a lot of people to get you enrolled, and you helped me, and you helped me, too.”
With Trump quickly taking the White House and Republicans securing a majority in the Senate, the party is eyeing a third term in Washington next year. The Associated Press has not yet announced that either party will control the House, but Republicans appear to be in a solid position to maintain a slim majority.
President Trump also commented Wednesday during a meeting with House Republicans that he doubts he will run for president again unless the House takes “some action.” Former presidents are not eligible to run for the White House again after serving a second term.
“If you don’t do something, I will never run for office again,” Trump said, according to pool reporters who were present.
