Trump-Biden meet: US President-elect Donald Trump, who was making a victor's return to Washington, arrived near the Capitol for a meeting with outgoing President Joe Biden and House Republicans on Wednesday. Biden greeted Trump with a handshake in the Oval Office meeting, each pledging a smooth transition from Democrat to Republican. This was the first meeting between the two rivals in the White House since the 2020 US election in which Biden defeated Trump.
Biden congratulated Trump on his win days after bitterly fought Presidential election. Trump said “politics is tough” and not always a nice world “but it is a nice world today”. Trump arrived at the White House a little behind schedule for the meeting with President Biden.
Earlier, Trump's plane landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday morning. Back in Washington for the first time since his election victory, Trump told lawmakers, “It's nice to win.”
It's a stunning return to the US seat of government for the former president, who departed nearly four years ago a diminished, politically defeated leader after the Jan 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol but is preparing to come back to power with what he and his GOP allies see as a mandate for governance.
“He is the comeback king,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson before Trump's arrival, adding “We owe him a great debt of gratitude.”
President Joe Biden — both Trump's successor and predecessor — will welcome him to the Oval Office. It's a traditional part of the peaceful handoff of power, but also a ritual that Trump himself declined to participate in four years ago.
Before his White House session, Trump was meeting privately with congressional Republicans as they focus on his Day 1 priorities and prepare for a potentially unified government with a GOP sweep of power in Washington.
His visit, amid Republican congressional leadership elections, could put his imprint on the outcome.
“I expect him to give a great message today, more like a locker room speech getting everybody ready for what's coming in January,” Rep. Tom Emmer said on Fox News' “Fox and Friends.” The new Congress will be sworn-in about two weeks before Trump takes office on Inauguration Day on Jan 20, 2025.
Trump accompanied by billionaire Elon Musk
In an unusual move, Trump is being accompanied on the trip by billionaire Elon Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who Trump named on Tuesday to a government efficiency advisory role, isn't expected to attend the White House sit-down. But he will join Trump's meeting with House Republicans before that. Musk has been spending much of his time at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida estate, and participating in meetings as the incoming Trump administration prepares to transition from Biden's. Some close to Trump and his team now see the billionaire as the second most influential figure in Trump's immediate orbit, after Susie Wiles, the campaign manager who is Trump's incoming chief of staff.
(With AP inputs)
