Washington- US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday met President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House to ensure a smooth transition of power, a hallmark of American democracy which took a break four years ago.
In the meeting, the two leaders assured the nation of a peaceful transition of power on January 20 next year.
Biden said, “welcome back” to Trump, and the two leaders shook hands.
He congratulated Trump on his victory and said he looked forward to a smooth transition.
“Well, Mr President-elect, Donald, congratulations… and I look forward to having a smooth transition. Welcome,” Biden said.
“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. The transition is so smooth, and it will be as smooth as it can get…,” Trump said in his remarks.
The First Lady joined President Biden in greeting President-elect Trump upon his arrival at the White House. She gave Trump a handwritten letter of congratulations for Mrs Trump, which expressed her team’s readiness to assist with the transition.
White House Chief-of-Staff Jeff Zients and incoming White House Chief-of-Staff Susie Wiles also attended the meeting later.
Meanwhile, addressing Republican lawmakers during his meeting with them after returning to Washington for the first time since his election victory, Trump said, “It’s nice to win.”
“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you do something,” he said.
The US Constitution prevents presidents from running for a third term.
Will have orderly, peaceful transition of power: White House after Trump-Biden meeting
The United States will see an orderly and peaceful transition of power, the White House said following a two-hour long meeting between President-elect Donald Trump and outgoing President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
“Today, President Biden met with President-elect Trump for approximately two hours in the Oval Office. White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and incoming Chief of Staff Susie Wiles joined the meeting. It was substantive meeting and exchange of views,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters here.
“They discussed important national security and domestic policy issues facing the nation and the world. President Biden also raised important items on Congress’s to-do list for the lame-duck session, including funding the government and providing the disaster supplemental funding the president requested,” she said.
“Finally, the president reiterated what he said to the president-elect the day after the election and to the American people in the Rose Garden just last week: We will have an orderly transition and a peaceful transition of power,” Jean-Pierre said.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that transitions are uniquely consequential moments in geopolitics. “They’re a time when competitors and adversaries can see possibly opportunity, because you have this change in government here,” he said.
Responding to a question, Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration wants to move forward. “We respect the will of the people. There was an election, as you know, last week, and the American people spoke. And so, the president is going to make sure that he puts the American people first. He’s going to make sure that we move forward in this process and this transition process in a way that is respectful to the American people and to lead by example,” the White House press secretary said.
“I think the president has shown that in the past week of that leadership. So, that’s what you’re going to hear. That’s what we’re going to continue to do in the 68 days that we have left in this administration,” she added.
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