President Joe Biden welcomed President-elect Donald Trump back to the White House on Wednesday in a meeting between bitter rivals that was extraordinary precisely because of how normal it all seemed.
Sitting stiffly next to each other in oversized chairs in the Oval Office, the two smiled for the cameras and quietly joked among themselves. They exchanged a handshake and warm pleasantries, with Biden congratulating Trump on his election victory and Trump complimenting Biden for initiating a smooth transition of power.
And as Trump contemplated returning to the building he left in disgrace four years ago, only to stage a stunning comeback that would return him to power, he took the high road — at least for now.
“Politics is tough and in many cases it is not a nice world,” he said. “But it’s a beautiful world today.”
For the brief moment made available to reporters, the Oval Office meeting marked the beginning of the peaceful transfer of power that Trump denied Biden four years ago.
The scene was shockingly surreal in the wake of a vicious campaign seen as crucial to the survival of the United States by both parties, perhaps none more so than Biden, who had warned for years that Trump was a threat to the soul of the United States. the nation – and a particularly offensive figure to his own institutional sensibilities.
Biden made Trump’s authoritarian instincts and efforts to overturn the 2020 election the centerpiece of his reelection campaign. Trump, in turn, mocked Biden’s mental acuity and repeatedly threatened to punish his political opponents. The last time the two had a back-and-forth was during the June debate that effectively doomed Biden’s bid and brought his long political career to an abrupt end.
“I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” Trump said on that stage, striking a sympathetic stance toward Biden as the president struggled to make a coherent argument.
But when they reunited a week after the election that resoundingly gave Trump the White House, the two managed a cordial — if slightly awkward — photo in front of a roaring fire.
Biden and Trump then held a private conversation that lasted nearly two hours, eventually involving Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and Susie Wiles, Trump’s campaign manager and new chief of staff.
First lady Jill Biden also stopped by, the White House said, congratulating Trump and delivering a letter intended for Melania Trump, who had declined to make the trip.
The White House provided few immediate details about how Trump and Biden filled their time behind closed doors, although press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said they discussed a few immediate priorities: keeping the government funded and managing the transition between the current administration and the new Trump administration. team.
Biden allies said ahead of the meeting that they also expected the president to discuss foreign affairs, where aides harbor deep concerns about how Trump will disrupt diplomatic ties amid wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Trump has resisted continuing aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia, vowing instead to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a peace deal. Officials also expect him to pursue a much more tolerant approach to Israel and its offensive in Gaza, potentially further worsening the already catastrophic humanitarian situation.
But neither Biden nor Trump emerged as the meeting ended, with Trump slipping past the hundreds of reporters gathered in the White House driveway and outside the grounds.
“It was very cordial, very friendly,” Jean-Pierre told reporters in the briefing room. “The president wants you all to know that Trump was friendly and came up with a detailed set of questions.”
The approach fit with Biden’s broader emphasis on carrying out a professional transition, which he sees as crucial to strengthening American confidence in elections and the strength of the nation’s institutions.
Despite warning earlier this year that Trump was “willing to sacrifice our democracy,” Biden, in the aftermath of the election, tasked his aides with ensuring the Trump team gets everything it needs to sustain his administration. He has so far declined to address the many concerns about Trump’s leanings that he and Vice President Kamala Harris have made a centerpiece of their respective campaigns.
“We accept the choice the country has made,” Biden said in the Rose Garden last week. “I have often said that you cannot love your country only when you win.”
It’s a stance that has also been used as a rebuke of Trump’s own behavior in 2020, though perhaps not as directly as desired by some other Democrats, baffled by the lack of public concern about Trump’s return that has so far left Biden and his aides has arisen.
When the tables were turned four years ago, Trump refused to budge and never invited Biden to the Oval Office. Instead, the then-president embarked on a weeks-long effort to overturn the results of the election, an effort that culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The insurrection – and Trump’s decision to foment such election denialism – prompted Biden’s decision to run for re-election at age 81, despite widespread doubts about his age and ability that would eventually overtake him . The president, he and his allies argued during the doomed bid, was the only one Trump had defeated before.
And as he sat next to Trump in the Oval on Wednesday, preparing to hand back the reins to the twice-impeached convicted felon he once dismissed as a “loser,” he remained the only one.
