US President-elect Donald Trump returned to Washington for the first time since his victory, at the invitation of outgoing President Joe Biden. Trump met with Republican lawmakers ahead of his long-awaited conversation with Biden at the White House.
He president-elect of the United StatesDonald Trump returned to Washington this Wednesday to meet with outgoing president Joe Biden, with whom he will talk about the transition prior to his inauguration on January 20. trump He spoke with Republican legislators before his visit to the White House.
“Welcome, welcome back,” Biden said as he greeted Trump with a handshake in a meeting that seemed cordial, according to the small group of reporters with access to the Oval Office this Wednesday.
“Politics is tough and in many cases it is not a pleasant world, but today it is a pleasant world,” Trump said shortly before the press was escorted out of the venue, where the meeting continued behind closed doors.
Biden reiterated his congratulations to his successor for his victory at the polls and promised him a peaceful transition of power. “It will be as smooth as possible and I appreciate it, Joe,” Trump responded.
These types of post-election meetings are traditional between the outgoing president and the incoming one. However, it is the first between the two, because Trump did not receive Biden after the Democrat won the elections against the Republican in 2020.
The next American head of state, the first to be elected to serve two non-consecutive terms in more than a century, arrived at Andrews Air Base on Wednesday morning aboard his plane calling itself “Trump Force One.”
Before his meeting at the White House, Trump celebrated his victory with Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives of Congress, which is expected to come under Republican control following the results of the Nov. 5 election.
“Isn't it nice to win? It's nice to win. It's always nice to win,” Trump told congressmen. “The Chamber did very well,” he added.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden are expected to discuss various issues related to the transfer of power. Democrats have announced that Ukraine and the continuation of US military support for kyiv in its war against Russia will be one of the priorities of the meeting, which has raised expectations inside and outside the US.
This is Trump's first visit to the US executive residence since he left power, on January 20, 2021. Hundreds of journalists crowded into the White House gardens to report this moment.
In 2016, outgoing President Barack Obama and Trump spoke for 90 minutes, although this meeting is expected to last much less.
About eleven weeks after the inauguration, the president-elect already began preparations for his return to power. With just a few days to go until his victory was confirmed, he has already made several announcements about his cabinet members.
trump proposed South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as DHS secretaryand his close collaborator, Stephen Miller, as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, according to US media reports. Another important appointment for relations with Latin America would be that of Marco Rubio as Secretary of the State Department.
Also nominated Fox News veteran and host Pete Hegsethas his next Secretary of Defense, and announced that Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will direct the incipient Department of Government Efficiency.
Biden was the main contender for now President-elect Trump in the race for the White House in 2024 until last July, when the veteran politician withdrew from the race and gave way to his vice president, Kamala Harris, who became the candidate. Democratic presidential after the confirmation of the blue party electors.
Harris lost the presidential election on November 5 to the Republican, who next January will become the second president in US history to serve two non-consecutive terms as head of state.
Biden congratulated his predecessor on the victory and invited him to the White House last Wednesday. A day later he sent a conciliatory message and promised a peaceful transfer of power in his first speech after Trump's victory, where he also praised Vice President Harris and supported the “integrity” of the US electoral system.
(With collaboration from Iacopo Luzi, VOA correspondent in Washington. Contains information from AP and Reuters)