Biden and Trump meet at White House and pledge smooth transition of power

The most important thing about Wednesday’s meeting in the Oval Office of the White House is that it took place at all. U.S. President Joe Biden gave a normal, democratic welcome to the man who will become his successor on January 20, 2025: Donald Trump. This resumes a decades-old tradition that symbolizes the peaceful and orderly transfer of power, something that Trump himself broke four years ago when he was unable to accept his defeat at the polls.

“Congratulations,” the Democrat told the Republican. “I look forward to having, like they said, a smooth transition,” Biden said. “Welcome. Welcome back.”

“Thank you very much. Politics is tough. And it’s, in many cases, not a very nice world. But it is a nice world today, and I appreciate it very much,” Trump replied after Biden said that he was willing to ensure a “smooth” transfer of power.

Two opposing politicians, who disqualified each other during the campaign — Trump, resorting to insults; Biden, presenting his successor as a threat to democracy — were face-to-face again. The current president, however, did not hesitate to pledge to facilitate the transition, even if it will mean reversing many of his policies and eroding his legacy. The two men shook hands and even gave each other complicit smiles as the journalists present shouted questions — which went unanswered — before the two leaders were left alone.

The meeting went on for nearly two hours. Current White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and incoming Chief of Staff Susie Wiles joined Biden and Trump, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a press conference, but did not clarify whether the two presidents spent any time talking alone. Jean-Pierre stressed that the meeting was “very cordial, very gracious, and substantive” and that its very length is a good sign and shows that they addressed the hot-button issues in some detail.

“It was a substantive meeting and an exchange of views. They discussed important national security and domestic policy issues facing the nation and the world. President Biden also raised important items on Congress’ to-do list for the lame duck session, including funding the government and providing the disaster supplemental funding the president requested,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that Biden had “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.”

However, Melania Trump did not attend the White House. It is also customary for the first lady, in this case Jill Biden, to receive her successor in parallel with the meeting to transfer power. The first lady did join the president in greeting Trump upon his arrival at the White House. She handed him a handwritten letter of congratulations for his wife, in which she also expressed her team’s willingness to assist in the transition, the White House reported.

Ukraine and Israel on agenda

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also noted at the press conference that among the issues discussed at the meeting were aid to Ukraine and the situation regarding U.S. hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. Biden reaffirmed his view that continued U.S. support for Ukraine is in the interest of America’s own national security.

According to Sullivan, the president stressed that the funds earmarked by Congress for Kyiv are not just money being sent to another country. “They are dollars that we are investing here in the United States, in American jobs producing American weapons that we are sending to Ukraine, and American weapons that we are building to expand our own industrial base and our own military capability to deter other adversaries around the world. That’s how he laid it out,” Sullivan added.

Trump posed a number of questions to Biden and there was an in-depth give-and-take on different issues, said Jean-Pierre, who declined to go into details. The White House press secretary indicated that Biden’s concern that Trump could be a threat to democracy remains. There was no exchange of classified documents at the meeting.

Stop at the Capitol

Before arriving at the White House, Trump headed to the Capitol to address the House of Representatives in a triumphant manner. There, he showed that he remains at odds with the truth, even in victory. He said that he won the election against Kamala Harris by 7.1 million votes, when in reality the difference — not yet definitive — is around three million votes.

Congress is key to the president-elect’s ability to carry out many of his campaign promises, including tax cuts. His appointments also depend on confirmation by the Senate, where the process can sometimes be cumbersome. Trump has asked the upper house to follow a legal shortcut to speed up the inauguration of new top officials.

The Republicans have taken control of the Senate, with 53 of the 100 seats. In the House of Representatives, they are just two seats away from retaining their majority.

At the Capitol, Trump received a standing ovation from Republican lawmakers, many of whom filmed him on their cell phones. The president-elect permitted himself a joke about the possibility of running again, which is prohibited by a constitutional amendment limiting presidential terms to a maximum of two. “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say he’s good we got to figure something else,” he said in a jovial tone.

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