Biden, Trump to meet at White House to discuss transition

Admin Biden, Trump transition team, MAGA Republicans, Trump inauguration ceremony, Trump to meet, peaceful transfer of power, transition of presidential power
By Jeff Mordock – The Washington Times – Saturday, November 9, 2024

President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump will meet at the White House next week as the Democrat welcomes to the People’s House a man he constantly condemned as a threat to democracy.

Mr. Trump will revisit his home of 2017-21 at 11 a.m. Wednesday, the White House said. The Trump transition team hasn’t confirmed the meeting and didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Thursday, Mr. Biden vowed to oversee “a peaceful and orderly” transfer of power.

“I will do my duty as president,” he said. “I’ll fulfill my oath, and I will honor the Constitution. On Jan. 20, we will have a peaceful transfer of power here in America.”

While Mr. Biden has pledged unity and bipartisanship in the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris’ election loss, underneath the talk is a somewhat dour mood at the White House.

Mr. Biden has said the reason he ran for president in the first place was because of the danger of Mr. Trump’s “MAGA Republicans.”

The meeting also requires Mr. Biden to honor Mr. Trump in the ways that the former president eschewed after the 2020 election. Mr. Trump refused to acknowledge what he called a rigged election and skipped Mr. Biden’s inauguration ceremony.

Still, Mr. Biden and his staffers have said he intends to attend Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The president said as much in the Rose Garden on Thursday.

“We accept the choice the country made,” Mr. Biden said. “I’ve said many times, you can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.”

The White House staff has already pushed the Trump team to sign the required federal agreements necessary to start the orderly transition of presidential power. Biden Chief of Staff Jeff Zients has already reached out to Trump transition co-chairs Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon to reiterate the important role of the pacts.

Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
The Washington Times stories: White House

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