President Joe Biden welcomed back President-elect Donald Trump as they met in the Oval Office of the White House. This formal meeting was meant to represent the beginning of a peaceful transition of power, as past presidents have demonstrated. President Trump did not hold this meeting before Biden took office in 2020 as he refused to concede the election results.
Reporters were only in the room for a few moments, witnessing the two presidents shaking hands and providing friendly welcomes.
“Thank you very much, and politics is tough, and it’s, 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,” President Trump said to Biden and the press.
No questions were answered from the media present. As the meeting began, Trump spoke to House Republicans, alongside reportedly incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and current Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.
Melania Trump did not attend the meeting where she was set to meet with First Lady Jill Biden. It is common for the first ladies to meet as well as during these meetings. Jill Biden presented Trump with a written letter of congratulations for Melania.
The 90-plus-minute meeting dove into multiple political topics, such as the war in Gaza and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. President-Elect Trump promised he would end these wars in office during his campaign. Government funding, emergency disaster handling, and the peaceful transfer of power were also discussed. Trump reportedly arrived at the meeting with a detailed list of questions for President Biden.
The transfer of power from Biden to Trump is on the path to be peaceful, with tradition and healthy conversations being represented by both sides. President Biden shared wise words last week, “Campaigns are a contest of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country made. You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.”
