WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump returned to the White House on Wednesday for the first time since winning last week’s election and sat down for talks about the looming transfer of power with longtime political rival President Joe Biden.
“Welcome, welcome back,” Biden told Trump at the start of their meeting in front of a roaring fireplace.
He promised Trump a smooth transition of power and to do all he could “to make sure you’re accommodated.”
“It’ll be as smooth as it can get,” Trump said.
It was a sharp contrast to the criticism the two men have hurled at each other for years. Their respective teams hold vastly different positions on policies from climate change to Russia to trade.
Biden, 81, has portrayed Trump as a threat to democracy, while Trump, 78, has portrayed Biden as incompetent. Trump made false claims of widespread fraud after losing the 2020 election to Biden.
