Biden congratulates Trump, tells him ‘welcome back’ to White House in historic meeting
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump and President Biden acted like old friends rather than bitter rivals in the Oval Office on Wednesday, shaking hands and exchanging warm words during Trump’s first trip to Washington since his re-election win.
At the start of a meeting that lasted nearly two hours, the pair discussed plans for a peaceful transition of power when Trump takes the oath of office for a second time on Jan. 20. Biden, 81, wore a broad smile as he told Trump “welcome back” after congratulating the Republican on his election win and saying he was “looking forward” to “having a smooth transition” and promising Trump would be “accommodated” with everything he needs.
“Politics is tough, and in many cases it’s not a nice world, but it is a nice world today,” responded Trump, 78.
“It’ll be as smooth as it can get, and I very much appreciate it, Joe,” the former president added.The outgoing president said, “You’re welcome.”
Trump spoke warmly about the meeting with his former rival, telling The Post in a phone interview as he was leaving Washington that “we got to know each other again” in those two hours.
“You know, it’s been a long, it’s been a long slog,” Trump said. “It’s been a lot of work on both sides and he did a very good job with respect to campaigning and everything else. We really had a really good meeting.”
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Trump and Biden were joined by their respective chiefs of staff, Susie Wiles and Jeff Zients, as they discussed topics including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
“I wanted — I asked for his views and he gave them to me,” Trump told The Post about the Ukraine discussion. “Also, we talked very much about the Middle East, likewise. I wanted to know his views on where we are and what, what he thinks. And he gave them to me, he was very gracious.”
The White House also described the meeting as very “gracious,” with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying it was “cordial” and “substantive.”
“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.
She did not reveal whether Biden “apologized” for his previous inflammatory remarks about Trump or if the two spoke about Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I look forward to leading a smooth transition and peaceful transfer of power,” Biden wrote on X. “As I told the President-elect, my team is committed to doing everything we can to ensure the incoming administration has what they need.”
The 45th president told The Post he enjoyed seeing the “beautiful” Oval Office again after being away four years, and that he’s looking “forward” to coming back to the White House.
Trump also revealed he is expecting to see Biden again before the inauguration, and said the process of filling out his administration was going “very smoothly.”
“They’re happy with everything. We have some people that are getting great accolades. So I think it’s going to be a great team, hopefully for the country, if I’m right,” he said of his nominees.
First lady Jill Biden joined the president to greet Trump and passed along a handwritten letter for Melania Trump, who refused to attend a traditional meeting with Jill Biden in a fit of pique over the August 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago.
The letter included congratulations and expressed the Bidens’ readiness to prepare the White House for a smooth transition — something the administration has been stressing since Harris’ loss to Trump Nov. 5.
Trump entered and left the White House through the South Portico, bypassing hundreds of journalists who had gathered outside the West Wing in the hope of hearing from the once and future commander in chief.
Supporters of the 45th president also gathered by the gates outside the White House hoping to catch a glimpse of his motorcade as he drove up Pennsylvania Avenue.
Prior to arriving at the White House, Trump addressed jubilant House Republicans, who have claimed a majority for the next two years.
“It’s nice to win,” Trump told the assembled lawmakers, before joking that “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s so good, we gotta figure something else out.'”
