Biden, Trump security advisers meet to pass ceremonial baton

WASHINGTON – Top advisers to US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump put aside their differences – mostly – for a symbolic “passing of the torch” event focused on national security issues on Jan 14.

Mr Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan passed a ceremonial baton to

Representative Mike Waltz, Trump’s pick for the same job

, in a revival of a Washington ritual organised by the non-partisan United States Institute of Peace since 2001.

The two men are normally in the media defending their bosses’ opposing views on Ukraine, the Middle East and China.

Mr Waltz and Mr Sullivan politely searched for common ground on a panel designed to project the continuity of power in the United States.

“It’s like a very strange, slightly awkward version of The Dating Game, you know the old game where you wrote down your answer, and that person wrote down their answer, and you see how much they match up,” said Mr Sullivan.

The event offered a preview of what may be in store on Jan 20 when

Trump is inaugurated

as president. This peaceful transfer of power, a hallmark of more than two centuries of American democracy, comes four years after he disputed and never conceded his loss in the 2020 election.

This time, the two sides are talking. Mr Sullivan, at Mr Biden’s request, has briefed Mr Waltz privately, at length, on the current administration’s policy around the world, even as the Trump aide has regularly said the new team will depart radically from it.

Trump’s Middle East envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff, and Mr Biden’s envoy, Mr Brett McGurk, are working together this week to

close a ceasefire deal

in the region for hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Asked about the key challenges facing the new administration, Mr Waltz and Mr Sullivan both pointed to the

California wildfires

and China.

Mr Sullivan also highlighted a hostage deal and

artificial intelligence

as key issues.

Mr Waltz pointed to the US border with Mexico, an area where Trump has ripped Mr Biden’s approach.

But he credited the Biden administration with deepening ties among US allies in Asia.

For all the bonhomie between the two men, and the talk of the prospects for peace in the Middle East, Mr Waltz painted a picture of the grimmer decisions awaiting him in his new job.

“Evil does exist,” he said. “Sometimes you just have to put bombs on foreheads.” REUTERS