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Trump and Biden both call for smooth transition in historic Oval Office meeting
President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump met in the Oval Office for nearly two hours on Wednesday, resuming a hallmark of America’s peaceful transfer of power that Trump himself flouted in 2020.
The two men, seated by a roaring fire, shook hands before reporters and news cameras.
President Biden spoke first, calling for a “smooth transition” and telling Trump he would do “everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated.”
Trump followed by thanking Biden.
“Politics is tough, and it’s, in many cases, not a very nice world but it is a nice world today,” Trump said. “And I appreciate it very much. A transition that’s so smooth, it’ll be as smooth as it can get, and I very much appreciate that, Joe.”
They did not answer questions.
The meeting, which the White House later described as cordial, came after an intense (and at times insult-ridden) campaign before Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
First lady Jill Biden joined President Biden in greeting Trump upon his arrival, according to the White House. She gave Trump a handwritten letter of congratulations for Melania Trump, which also expressed her team’s readiness to assist with the transition.
The first lady’s office confirmed that a joint invitation was extended to the Trumps for Wednesday’s meeting, but Melania Trump did not travel to Washington with her husband.
“Her husband’s return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success,” Melania Trump’s office said in a statement.
In 2016, Michelle Obama hosted Melania Trump at the White House when then-President Barack Obama hosted Trump in the Oval Office for 90 minutes.
But after the 2020 election, Trump broke not only with inviting the president-elect to the White House but he also skipped Biden’s inauguration, instead leaving Washington mere hours before the ceremony began.
Wednesday marked Trump’s first time back in the White House since ending his presidency under a cloud of election denialism four years ago. A week before his departure, he was impeached by the House for a second time as lawmakers charged him with “incitement of insurrection” after his supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump at the time vowed to return and his comeback was made complete last week. He swept all seven swing states, clinching 312 electoral votes to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 226 votes, and is on track to win the popular vote.
Biden spoke with Trump on Nov. 6 to congratulate him and to extend a political olive branch with an invitation to the White House. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden did so because “he believes in the norms” of the institution.
Vice President Harris did not attend the meeting. According to the White House, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients and incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles were present for the conversation.
Jean-Pierre, at Wednesday’s press briefing, described the discussion between Biden and Trump as “very gracious and substantive.”
They discussed foreign policy, including Biden’s view on standing with Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggression, national security and domestic issues, she said, and Trump came prepared with a list of questions for Biden.
When asked by ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce if there was any indication the advice Biden gave was being well-received by Trump, Jean-Pierre said, “I think so.”
Biden also spoke to Trump about “important items” for Congress to achieve in the lame-duck session. Lawmakers will have to come to an agreement on government funding, pass the annual defense bill and more before the end of the year.
“Finally, the president reiterated what he said to the president elect the day after the election and to the American people in the Rose Garden just last week: we will have an orderly transition and a peaceful transition of power,” Jean-Pierre said.
Jean-Pierre said Biden would keep the line of communication open with the president-elect.
“We got to remember, this is not about the two presidents. This is not about President Biden or President elect Trump,” she said. “This is about the American people and what’s right for the American people.”
Trump spoke to the New York Post after the meeting, saying he spoke with Biden about Russia and the Middle East.
“I wanted — I asked for his views and he gave them to me,” Trump told the newspaper.
Before meeting with Biden, Trump received a warm welcome back to Washington by House Republicans. Flanked by Elon Musk, a newly influential figure in his orbit, Trump spoke to the conference and thanked them for delivering a House majority.
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