President-elect Donald Trump and President Biden acted like old friends rather than bitter rivals in the Oval Office on Wednesday, shaking hands and exchanging warm words during Trump’s first trip to Washington since his re-election win.
At the start of a meeting that lasted nearly two hours, the pair discussed plans for a peaceful transition of power when Trump takes the oath of office for a second time on Jan. 20. Biden, 81, wore a broad smile as he told Trump “welcome back” after congratulating the Republican on his election win and saying he was “looking forward” to “having a smooth transition” and promising Trump would be “accommodated” with everything he needs.
“Politics is tough, and in many cases it’s not a nice world, but it is a nice world today,” responded Trump, 78.
Trump spoke warmly about the meeting with his former rival, telling The Post in a phone interview as he was leaving Washington that “we got to know each other again” in those two hours.
“You know, it’s been a long, it’s been a long slog,” Trump said. “It’s been a lot of work on both sides and he did a very good job with respect to campaigning and everything else. We really had a really good meeting.”
Trump and Biden were joined by their respective chiefs of staff, Susie Wiles and Jeff Zients, as they discussed topics including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Supporters of the 45th president also gathered by the gates outside the White House hoping to catch a glimpse of his motorcade as he drove up Pennsylvania Avenue.