Biden and Trump Meet In Oval Office, Commit to “Smooth” Transition of Power
Source: SAUL LOEB / Getty
President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump agreed to have a “smooth” transition of power during their meeting at the White House on Wednesday (Nov. 13).
As reported by CBS News, reporters were present only momentarily when the two shook hands at the top of the meeting.
President Biden started by congratulating Trump on his victory. “Well Mr. President-elect, former president, Donald, congratulations, and looking forward to, like we said, a smooth transition,” he said, promising that his administration will accommodate the president-elect’s needs.
“Thank you very much, and politics is tough, and it’s, many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate very much a transition that’s so smooth, it’ll be as smooth as it can get,” Trump responded.
The meeting was the first time the two men spoke to each other since the ill-fated presidential debate in June, during which Biden struggled. Due to his performance and alarmed pressure from the Democratic party, Biden dropped out of the race weeks later, leaving Trump to run against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Who Accompanied Trump To DC…and Who Didn’t?
One notably absent person from the trip was Melania Trump, who decided not to meet with outgoing First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden. It is a tradition for first ladies to meet, as Mrs. Trump did with Michelle Obama in 2016. Instead, Jill Biden’s office opted to send a handwritten letter of congratulations, expressing her team’s readiness to assist with the transition.
Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty
One person who did travel with Trump to DC was billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk. A source said that the owner of Tesla and X (formerly Twitter) traveled with the president-elect on his plane as they headed to the White House and was present during Trump’s meeting with House Republicans earlier that morning. A huge backer of Trump’s 2024 campaign, Musk was named as co-chair of Trump’s newly-created Office of Government Efficiency on Tuesday (Nov. 12).
Trump was greeted with a standing ovation by House Republicans, saying his team “worked with a lot of you to get you in, and you helped me, and you helped me too.”
As reporters left the room, Trump added, “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you do something else, unless you say he’s so good we’ve got to figure something out.”
Meanwhile, the president and first lady spoke with community college students at a White House event before the meeting with Trump. Jill Biden told the students, many of whom are graduating, “Joe and I are also preparing for what’s coming next.”
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