President-elect Donald Trump met with President Joe Biden at the White House Wednesday morning to discuss the presidential transition, a centuries-old tradition.Melania Trump ahead of Trump’s Washington trip declined the invitation to meet with Jill Biden.The occasion marks the first time Trump has been in the Oval Office since he left in 2021. Trump, however, did not invite then President-elect Biden for the traditional transition meeting. They shook hands, Biden said, “Welcome back,” and promised to help make it a smooth transition. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure we accommodate what you need,” said Biden. “And we’re going to get a chance to talk about some of that today. So welcome. Welcome back.”Trump replied: “Politics is tough, and it’s in many cases not a very nice world — but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate very much the transition that’s so smooth, it’s as smooth as it can get.” Biden reportedly gave Trump a sealed "Letter of Readiness" — the contents of which have not been disclosed, reported CNN. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters afterwards the nearly two-hour meeting was “substantive” and the two men had “a very good back and forth” dialogue. She said Biden “certainly looked forward to the meeting, appreciated the conversation and answered any questions the president-elect had.”“I don’t want to go into specifics or details, but they met for nearly two hours, a very long time,” said Jean-Pierre. “I think the length of the meeting tells you they had a meaningful conversation on a range of issues.”She said Biden “wanted to afford the president-elect to have the opportunity” to ask questions, and added “the president is always going to obviously keep the line of communication open.”“Remember, this is not about two presidents. This is about the American people,” said Jean-Pierre. She would not go into details about what was on Trump’s list of questions that he had for Biden. “If the president-elect wants to share his list of questions for Biden, he is able to do so,” she said. When asked whether the issue of Trump not acknowledging Biden as president elect in 2020, Jean-Pierre responded, “We want to move forward.” “That’s our focus, that’s what we want to do. I think the president has shown in the last week that leadership.” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaking after the Trump-Biden meeting said the two most significant national security threats Trump needs to be aware of coming into office are the People’s Republic of China and Iran and its proxy groups. .Ahead of the meeting, Trump delivered remarks to Republican congressional leaders at Joint Base Andrews in Washington.“It’s always nice to win,” Trump said of his election victory. Republicans now have control of the Senate and are projected to win the House.“We won it every way, all seven swing states, by a lot.”.The president-elect has been in Palm Beach strategizing and assembling his team — which includes Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who were recently appointed to lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is under consideration as US secretary of health. .On Wednesday following his meeting with Biden, Trump formally announced his nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Matt Gaetz as US attorney general. .Trump has also endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson and tapped Elise Stefanik as United Nations ambassador. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was appointed secretary of state, Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser, John Ratcliffe as CIA director, William Joseph McGinley as White House counsel and Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary.Johnson ahead of Trump’s arrival at Wednesday's GOP meeting called the president-elect the “comeback king,” reported CNN.“We rode his wave,” Johnson told Republican lawmakers."The coattails are enormous.”
President-elect Donald Trump met with President Joe Biden at the White House Wednesday morning to discuss the presidential transition, a centuries-old tradition.Melania Trump ahead of Trump’s Washington trip declined the invitation to meet with Jill Biden.The occasion marks the first time Trump has been in the Oval Office since he left in 2021. Trump, however, did not invite then President-elect Biden for the traditional transition meeting. They shook hands, Biden said, “Welcome back,” and promised to help make it a smooth transition. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure we accommodate what you need,” said Biden. “And we’re going to get a chance to talk about some of that today. So welcome. Welcome back.”Trump replied: “Politics is tough, and it’s in many cases not a very nice world — but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate very much the transition that’s so smooth, it’s as smooth as it can get.” Biden reportedly gave Trump a sealed "Letter of Readiness" — the contents of which have not been disclosed, reported CNN. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters afterwards the nearly two-hour meeting was “substantive” and the two men had “a very good back and forth” dialogue. She said Biden “certainly looked forward to the meeting, appreciated the conversation and answered any questions the president-elect had.”“I don’t want to go into specifics or details, but they met for nearly two hours, a very long time,” said Jean-Pierre. “I think the length of the meeting tells you they had a meaningful conversation on a range of issues.”She said Biden “wanted to afford the president-elect to have the opportunity” to ask questions, and added “the president is always going to obviously keep the line of communication open.”“Remember, this is not about two presidents. This is about the American people,” said Jean-Pierre. She would not go into details about what was on Trump’s list of questions that he had for Biden. “If the president-elect wants to share his list of questions for Biden, he is able to do so,” she said. When asked whether the issue of Trump not acknowledging Biden as president elect in 2020, Jean-Pierre responded, “We want to move forward.” “That’s our focus, that’s what we want to do. I think the president has shown in the last week that leadership.” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaking after the Trump-Biden meeting said the two most significant national security threats Trump needs to be aware of coming into office are the People’s Republic of China and Iran and its proxy groups. .Ahead of the meeting, Trump delivered remarks to Republican congressional leaders at Joint Base Andrews in Washington.“It’s always nice to win,” Trump said of his election victory. Republicans now have control of the Senate and are projected to win the House.“We won it every way, all seven swing states, by a lot.”.The president-elect has been in Palm Beach strategizing and assembling his team — which includes Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who were recently appointed to lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is under consideration as US secretary of health. .On Wednesday following his meeting with Biden, Trump formally announced his nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Matt Gaetz as US attorney general. .Trump has also endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson and tapped Elise Stefanik as United Nations ambassador. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was appointed secretary of state, Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser, John Ratcliffe as CIA director, William Joseph McGinley as White House counsel and Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary.Johnson ahead of Trump’s arrival at Wednesday's GOP meeting called the president-elect the “comeback king,” reported CNN.“We rode his wave,” Johnson told Republican lawmakers."The coattails are enormous.”
