‘Welcome back’: Trump, Biden shake hands in White House President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump meet on November 13, 2024, in the White House Oval Office in Washington, D.C.
‘Welcome back’: Trump, Biden shake hands in White House On Wednesday, Donald Trump triumphantly returned to the White House, where departing President Joe Biden showed politeness to the resentful adversary who had denied him the same treatment four years prior.
Trump’s visit coincided with his announcement of a number of hardline appointments for his top staff, including firebrand Matt Gaetz as attorney general, and the announcement that Republicans would be proclaimed the dominant party in the House of Representatives, giving him total power over Congress.
In front of a roaring fire, the US president and president-elect shook hands in the Oval Office. Biden renewed the custom that Trump had broken by refusing to acknowledge Biden’s victory in 2020.
“Welcome back,” Biden, 81, said as he congratulated Trump, 78, whom he has called a threat to democracy on numerous occasions, and promised a peaceful handover of power.
After losing to Trump last week, Biden, who withdrew from the race in July, promised to do “everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated.”
Biden seemed to look down when the two presidents, who are 159 years apart in age, clasped hands, but Trump leaned forward and met his eyes.
Trump waged a harsh and polarizing campaign this year and incited a mob that invaded the US Capitol in 2021, but he made an effort to be polite during his return visit to the White House.
“Politics is difficult.”
“Politics is difficult, and the world isn’t always pleasant. Trump, the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president of the United States, remarked, “It’s a nice world today and I appreciate it very much.”
The handover of power would be “smooth as you can get,” Trump continued.
Later, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre described the almost two-hour-long discussions as “very cordial, very gracious.”
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that Biden specifically emphasized to Trump, who has been dubious about US backing for Ukraine, the necessity of standing with Kiev against Russia.