Trump and Biden meet at the White House, promise a smooth transition of power

• Biden promises a smooth transition of power to Trump.
• Trump’s team has yet to sign any transition deals.
• Trump celebrates victory with House Republicans.
  

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump returned to the White House on Wednesday for the first time since winning last week’s election and discussed the impending transition of power with longtime political rival President Joe Biden.

“Welcome, welcome back,” Biden told Trump at the start of their meeting in front of a roaring fireplace.

He promised Trump a smooth transition of power and to do everything he can “to make sure you get along.”

“It’s going to be as smooth as possible,” Trump said.

It was a stark contrast to the criticism the two men have leveled at each other for years. Their respective groups hold very different positions on policies from climate change to Russia to trade.

Biden, 81, has portrayed Trump as a threat to democracy, while Trump, 78, has portrayed Biden as incompetent. Trump made false claims of widespread fraud after losing the 2020 election to Biden.

Trump’s motorcade passed through the heavily guarded White House gate and the former and future Republican president was welcomed to the Oval Office by Biden, a Democrat who defeated him in the 2020 election.

Outside on the White House driveway, a huge crowd of reporters gathered in anticipation of the big event.

Trump celebrated his victory earlier in the day with House Republicans who have a good chance of retaining control of the House as the results of the Nov. 5 election trickle in.

“Isn’t it nice to win? It’s nice to win. It’s always nice to win,” Trump said. “The House went very well.”

Biden, who originally ran against Trump in the 2024 election before dropping out and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, will welcome the former and future president to the Oval Office, a traditional courtesy of outgoing presidents that Trump has done , Republican. not extended when Biden won in 2020.

“He believes in the rules, he believes in our institution, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power,” White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said of Biden’s decision to invite Trump. He spoke at a press briefing on Tuesday.

Outside the gates of the White House, signs of the impending transfer of power were evident with the construction of bleachers for VIP guests already seated during the parade that will take place after Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Although Biden intends to use the meeting to show continuity, the transition itself is partly a dead end.

Trump’s team, which has already announced some members of the incoming president’s cabinet, has yet to sign deals that would lead to office space and government equipment as well as access to government officials, facilities and information, according to the White House.

“Trump-Vance transition attorneys continue to work constructively with Biden-Harris administration attorneys on all agreements contemplated by the Presidential Transition Act,” said Brian Vance, a Trump transition spokesman, referring to the governing law. the transfer of power. .

Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Presidential Transition Center at the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit that advises incoming administrations, said the agreement underscores that the United States has only one president at a time and includes commitments to sign ethics agreements not to profit motive. other than the information provided during transition.

“This has to be signed to begin interacting with federal agencies,” he said. “It all depends on that.”

In addition to meetings with federal agencies, Biden and Trump will likely discuss many topics, including foreign policy.

The outgoing president may urge Trump to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. US support for Kiev has been called into question since Trump’s victory over Harris last week, and Trump has vowed to end the war quickly without explaining how.

Jean-Pierre declined to describe the points of discussion between the two men before their meeting.

The meeting will be the first since the two men debated in June. Biden’s poor performance subsequently fueled concerns about his age among fellow Democrats and led to his exit from the race. Harris became the Democratic nominee, running a truncated campaign that ended in her loss.