President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump looked like old chums during a Wednesday meeting at the White House, with Biden telling Trump “welcome back” after being gone for four years.
Reporters snapped pictures as the two presidents shook hands in front of an Oval Office fireplace and discussed Trump’s upcoming January return to Washington, D.C.
President Biden said he’s “looking forward to having, like we said, a smooth transition” of power, and that his administration would “do everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated, [and] have what you need.”
Trump thanked the president and said the transition would be “so smooth” that it would be “as smooth as it can get.”
“Politics is tough, and in many cases, not a nice world. But it is a nice world today,” Trump told Biden.
They then chuckled together as the assembled press members started shouting questions at them. You can watch their exchange via C-SPAN’s X post, below:
81-year-old Biden, of course, dropped out of the presidential race earlier this year, following his debate with Trump in late June. 78-year-old Trump went on to beat Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, in the 2024 election last week.
Before arriving at the White House on Wednesday, Trump “addressed jubilant House Republicans,” the New York Post reported, after they claimed a majority for the next two years.
In 2020, Trump notably skipped this presidential tradition as Biden took power.
