Current president Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump advocated for a “strong” transfer of power during their first meeting since Trump won the presidential election last week.
The two met at the White House, where Biden said “I’m looking forward to having a smooth transition” and assured Trump that his team “would do everything we can to make sure you are accommodated.”
The cordial exchange contrasted with the last presidential election, when Trump failed to invite Biden to the White House after Biden’s victory in 2020.
The meeting on Wednesday marked the first time Trump had stepped back into the White House in four years.
“Welcome, welcome back,” Biden told Trump.
“Politics is tough and, in many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate very much a transition that’s so smooth. It’ll be as smooth as it can get, and I very much appreciate that, Joe,” Trump responded.
While tradition continued with Biden and Trump’s meeting, the same was not true for first lady Jill Biden and Trump’s wife, Melania. Mrs. Trump did not accompany her husband to the White House. It is customary for the wives of the president-elect and the current first lady to have tea together while their husbands meet. Instead, Dr. Biden stood alongside her husband as he welcomed Trump and handed him a handwritten letter addressed to Mrs. Trump. In the letter, she expressed “her team’s readiness to assist with the transition,” according to the White House.
After the meeting in front of the cameras, Trump and Biden returned to a more private setting, where they spoke for nearly two hours.
The two were expected to have discussed several issues, ranging from U.S. foreign policy to the logistics of handing over power. Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and Biden’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients, joined the two for part of the meeting.
As Trump and Biden met, Senate Republicans convened to elect their new majority leader, picking South Dakota Senator John Thune after two rounds of voting.
On Wednesday, November 13th, CBS projected that Republicans had won control of the House of Representatives, granting Trump support in both the House and the Senate.
The president-elect is still working on selecting new members of his administration ahead of his January 20th inauguration. His latest appointments include Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and billionaire supporter Elon Musk in a new cost-cutting role.
About 4,000 political appointments are expected to be made ahead of Trump’s inauguration in late January, a process that could take months.
Trump and Biden’s meeting was a huge step forward for the country, showing that even in tough times, the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power can bring hope and unity for what’s next.
