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By Emel Akan and Jacob Burg Contributing Writers WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden met with President-elect Donald Trump for nearly two hours in the Oval Office on Wednesday, during which both committed to a smooth transfer of power. In brief remarks before their meeting, the president congratulated Trump and said his administration will help accommodate the president-elect’s needs in the transition. “Congratulations and I look forward to having, like we said, a smooth transition,” Biden said.
“Welcome. Welcome back.” Trump thanked the president, adding, “Politics is tough, and it’s many cases not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today.
” “[A transition] will be as smooth as it can get and I very much appreciate that, Joe,” Trump said. First Lady Jill Biden joined the president in greeting Trump when he arrived at the White House and gave the president-elect a handwritten letter of congratulations to Melania Trump, according to the White House. The future first lady did not attend the meeting on Wednesday.
The meeting marked Trump’s first return to the White House in four years following a decisive victory in the Nov. 5 election. His win capped a significant comeback after losing his reelection bid to Biden in 2020.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the president and his team are focused on ensuring the transition is both effective and efficient. In a press briefing on Tuesday, Jean-Pierre said that Biden is hosting this meeting “because he believes in the norms.” “He said the American people deserve this.
They deserve a peaceful transfer of power.” After the meeting, Jean-Pierre said the nearly two-hour meeting’s length indicated its substance and importance, as the two had an in-depth discussion on an array of issues. “The president-elect, again, was gracious,” she said.
“We’re going to make sure ...
that his team has what they need.” On Nov. 10, 2016, President Barack Obama invited then-President-elect Trump to the White House as part of the tradition.
However, following his dispute over the results of the 2020 election, Trump did not extend a similar invitation to President-elect Joe Biden. The meeting between Biden and Trump was expected to be cordial, reflecting a significant shift in the relationship between the two presidents. Biden repeatedly called Trump an “existential threat” to democracy, accusing him of instigating the Capitol Hill riots on Jan.
6, 2021. Trump, in turn, referred to Biden as “the worst president in the history of the United States, by far.” However, on Nov.
7, Biden delivered a speech from the Rose Garden, promising a peaceful transition of power and urging Americans to “accept the choice.” The day before, Biden had spoken with Trump to congratulate him on his victory in the 2024 election. Trump’s team quickly confirmed the call in a statement.
“President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call,” Steven Cheung, Trump campaign communications director, said in the statement. Biden and Trump were expected to discuss top domestic and foreign policy issues, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. On Sunday, Sullivan offered a brief preview of the meeting during an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation.
” He stated that Biden would tell the president-elect not to abandon Ukraine. “President Biden will have the opportunity over the next 70 days to make the case to the Congress and to the incoming administration that the United States should not walk away from Ukraine, that walking away from Ukraine means more instability in Europe,” he added. The two last crossed paths at the 9/11 memorial in New York City for the 23rd anniversary of the Sept.
11, 2001, attacks. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, on Monday criticized Trump’s transition team.
“Donald Trump and his transition team are already breaking the law,” Warren said on Monday in a post on the social media platform X. “I would know because I wrote the law. Incoming presidents are required to prevent conflicts of interest and sign an ethics agreement.
” Warren was reacting to news reports that Trump’s transition team had not yet signed agreements with the Biden White House and the General Services Administration, a federal agency with a prominent role in the presidential transition process. The agreements will grant Trump’s team access to federal office space, secure emails, and funds designated for transition efforts. Jean-Pierre told reporters on Nov.
7 that Trump’s team “said they have an intent” to sign the agreements. Prior to the meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Trump met with Republican lawmakers in Congress. Jacob Burg contributed to this report.
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