Former and future President Donald Trump visited his old office today, the Oval Office. President Biden invited his predecessor and successor for what is a ceremonial tradition meant to signal the desire for a smooth and peaceful transfer of power.
In a very brief photo-op at the beginning of the meeting, the leaders shook hands and Biden congratulated Trump and said he looked forward to a smooth transition.
Trump said: “It will be as smooth as it can get and I very much appreciate that, Joe.”
“Politics is tough and in many cases it’s not a nice world, but it is a nice world today,” Trump said.
First lady Jill Biden was there to greet Trump on his arrival, the White House told reporters, giving him a handwritten letter for Melania Trump, who did not not attend.
Trump took part in this tradition in 2016, but skipped it in 2020
In 2020, Trump refused to accept the results of the election and did not invite Biden to the Oval Office.
But in 2016, then-President Barack Obama sat next to Trump in the Oval Office just two days after Trump beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Sitting side by side, Trump called Obama a “very good man,” said it was an honor to meet with him and expressed surprise that the conversation had lasted more than an hour.
The one piece of advice Obama gave Trump while reporters were in the room was, “Don’t answer the questions when they just start yelling it.”
That’s something Trump immediately ignored when in office. He frequently held court as reporters shouted questions, responding to the ones he felt like answering and sometimes sparring with the journalists.
But on Wednesday, both Trump and Biden ignored reporters’ questions.
The tradition is part of the transfer of power
If the Trump-Obama relationship was strained, the one between Biden and Trump is even worse. Biden campaigned against Trump twice, winning in 2020 with an argument that Trump was an existential threat to U.S. democracy.
Then during the 2024 campaign, their one meeting on a debate stage in late June essentially ended Biden’s bid for a second term. During the remaining months of the campaign Trump often gloated about his knock-out punch in the debate and bemoaned the “coup” that forced Biden out of the race.
But, the day after the election, Biden phoned Trump to congratulate him and invited him to the White House for a meeting.
“I assured him that I would direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition,” Biden told staff and members of his cabinet gathered in the Rose Garden last week. “That’s what the American people deserve.”
