The meeting at the White House between outgoing President of the United States, Joe Biden, and elected leader, Donald Trump, ended today after nearly two hours in the Oval Office. The meeting took place shortly after 11:00 a.m. local time and concluded around 1:00 p.m.
Biden expressed his desire for a smooth transition and assured Trump that his team would ensure he has everything needed to assume office on the upcoming January 20. Additionally, he welcomed him back.
For his part, Trump took the floor to highlight the difficult and complicated nature of politics, but he described today as a positive day in that regard. Addressing Biden, he congratulated him on his election as president.
This is not the first time Trump has participated in a transition meeting, as he had previously met with then-President Barack Obama after winning the 2016 elections. Although he expressed at that time that it was an honor to meet with Obama, he later insulted his predecessor on social media.
At the beginning of the meeting, Biden thanked for the smoothness of the transition and expressed his desire for it to continue that way. Both leaders provided brief statements to the press from the Oval Office to mark the formal start of the transition.
