WASHINGTON — President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump met at the White House on Wednesday, marking a return to an American tradition of civility that Trump broke in 2020.
The two men, seated by a fire in the Oval Office, shook hands in front of reporters and news cameras, briefly addressing one another before a notably silent press corps.
Biden spoke first, emphasizing the importance of a “smooth transition” and assuring Trump, “We’ll do everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated.” Trump followed with words of appreciation, calling the moment “a nice world today.” He added, “A transition that’s so smooth, it’ll be as smooth as it can get, and I very much appreciate that, Joe.”
The meeting reportedly lasted just under two hours before Trump departed the White House.
First Lady Jill Biden greeted Trump upon his arrival, presenting him with a handwritten letter addressed to Melania Trump, congratulating her and offering assistance with the transition. The first lady’s office confirmed that a joint invitation was extended to the Trumps for a White House visit, though Melania Trump did not join her husband on the trip.
“Her husband’s return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success,” Melania Trump’s office said in a statement.
The meeting revived a tradition that goes back generations, with the outgoing president welcoming the president-elect into the Oval Office as a symbolic gesture of a peaceful transfer of power. In 2016, Michelle Obama hosted Melania Trump at the White House, while then-President Barack Obama met with Trump just days after the election, calling their 90-minute conversation “excellent.”
Vice President Kamala Harris did not attend Wednesday’s meeting. However, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, were present, according to a statement from the White House.
After the 2020 election, Trump broke from two long-standing traditions meant to reinforce democracy’s peaceful transfer of power: he did not invite then-President-elect Biden to the White House and skipped Biden’s inauguration, departing Washington just hours before the ceremony.
