U.S President-elect, Donald Trump has met with Outgoing President, Joe Biden at the White House to discuss the transition between their administrations.
No such meeting happened after Biden won election in 2020, because Trump refused to acknowledge his victory.
Biden told Trump that he looks forward to a “smooth transition” in January, adding he will make sure his predecessor and successor is accommodated as he retakes the White House in January.
“Well, Mr. President-elect, former President, Donald. Congratulations,” he stated.
Biden said “Welcome back” to the President-elect, and the two leaders then shook hands.
Trump responded, “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.”
Biden had previously pledged a peaceful and orderly transition in a speech last week in which he accepted the election results.
Biden and Trump were expected to discuss several important matters during their meeting, which comes almost two months ahead of the President-elect’s inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Biden’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, disclosed before the meeting that Trump and Biden will go through the top issues – both domestic and foreign policy issues – including what is happening in Europe and Asia and the Middle East.
“And the President will have the chance to explain to President Trump how he sees things… and talk to President Trump about how President Trump is thinking about taking on these issues when he takes office.”
Jake Sullivan
Trump’s return to the presidency marks a shift in fortunes for himself and the Republicans. Many doubted that he would be able to resurrect his political career after his loss to Biden, particularly after his supporters rioted at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, leading to denouncements from across the American political divide.
However, the President-elect is now in a strong position, and has quickly set about appointing and nominating his allies for several of the top jobs in his incoming administration.
A Return To Form In US Governance
Speaking to a news agency, Barbara Perry, a Presidential Historian at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, opined that the proceedings are a return to form in US governance.
She explained the importance of smooth transition processes, which usually involve several meetings and information sharing between members of the incoming and outgoing administrations, regardless of the party.
“It would be as if you would take the CEO of a major corporation with thousands and thousands of employees and remove the CEO on one day at noon, in this case, January, the 20th of the upcoming year and then take out all of the top figures, including the board of the business.”
Barbara Perry
She said, “In order for it to be smooth, you need to have cooperation on both sides,” adding that beyond Trump’s snub of Biden in 2020, his entry into the White House in 2016 was also notoriously chaotic, with members of his team often failing to meet with members of then-outgoing President Barack Obama’s administration.
“I think that will be different as well. This time, I hope that the Trump people will be more open to the transition material.”
Barbara Perry
However, as of Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Trump’s team had not signed any of the transition agreements that would allow his team to begin to receive classified documents before he takes office.
A main sticking point has been an ethics code Trump’s team is legally required to submit as part of the transition agreement.
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