Trump meets with Biden, Republican lawmakers in Washington

By WILL WEISSERT, LISA MASCARO and ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump made a victorious return to Washington on Wednesday, visiting the White House for a nearly two-hour meeting with President Joe Biden and promising a simple transition of power despite actively working to disrupt the same process four years ago.

Sitting in the Oval Office, in front of a powerful fire in the fireplace, the former rivals shook hands before Biden called Trump ‘Mr. president-elect and former president” and then simply chose “Donald.”

“Congratulations,” the Democrat said to the Republican. “I’m looking forward to having, as they said, a smooth transition. Welcome. Welcome back.”

Trump responded, “Thank you very much,” and said that “politics is hard. And it’s not a very pretty world in many cases. But it’s a beautiful world today, and I really appreciate it.”

Other than the opening moments, the meeting was private, with Biden and Trump assisted by their chiefs of staff. Trump said the transition between the outgoing and new administrations will be “as smooth as possible and I really appreciate that, Joe.”

Trump, the winner this time, says he is willing to ensure there is a seamless transition between administrations. But when he lost four years ago, it was a very different story: Trump filed dozens of lawsuits falsely claiming widespread voter fraudrefused to actively participate in the transition work, denied the election results and helped set up a gang to that end attacked the US Capitolin an attempt to stop the certification of Biden’s victory.

He also did not invite Biden to the White Houseand he refused to attend the inauguration – the first time that had happened since Andrew Johnson skipped the swearing-in of Ulysses S. Grant 155 years ago.

The new all-smiling scene in the White House — despite what happened four years ago — provided a major relief to the remarkable political recovery of Trump, who left Washington in 2021 as a weakened, politically defeated leader. Today he is preparing to return to power now that the Republicans have taken back the Senate on the way to a majority in the House of Representatives and with what he and his Republican allies see as one mandate for the board.

Neither the president-elect nor Biden answered the questions reporters shouted after their brief remarks. At one point, Biden looked at Trump, who moved his head to the side and shrugged his shoulders but did not respond.

Trump later told The New York Post that he and Biden discussed two issues on which they differed sharply: the war in Ukraine and Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.

“I asked for his opinion and he gave it to me,” Trump told the newspaper. “We also talked a lot about the Middle East. I wanted to know his opinion on where we stand and what he thinks. And he gave them to me, he was very friendly.

It was unclear how long the president-elect’s dovish attitude toward Biden, who would become both his successor and predecessor in the White House, could last. After his 2016 election victory, Trump met with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office and called it “a great honor.” But he soon started insulting Obama again.

Trump felt at ease in the Oval Office on Wednesday, unlike eight years ago, when he appeared nervous and subdued during his meeting with Obama. The president-elect left the White House after his session with Biden without addressing the large contingent of reporters in the driveway waiting in case he appeared.

First lady Jill Biden greeted Trump upon his arrival and presented him with a handwritten letter of congratulations for his wife Melania, who did not make the trip to Washington. The letter also expressed the first lady’s team’s willingness to assist with the transition.

During his meeting with Biden, Trump sent a fundraising email to his supporters, saying he is “currently at the White House having a very important meeting.”

Trump had flown from Florida that morning and joined the billionaire Elon Musk before a morning session with Republicans in the House of Representatives, telling them, “It’s nice to win.”