Biden, Trump to meet at White House for transition talks
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Mr Joe Biden will welcome the former and future president Donald Trump into the Oval Office.
PHOTOS: REUTERS, AFP
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will host President-elect Donald Trump at the White House on Nov 13 for a meeting designed to demonstrate a smooth transition between administrations, even though Trump’s team have yet to sign documents to start the handover process.
Mr Biden, who initially ran against Trump in the 2024 election before stepping aside
“He believes in the norms, he believes in our institution, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Nov 12, on Mr Biden’s decision to invite Trump.
“That is what is the norm. That is what is supposed to happen.”
Mr Biden and Trump have sharply criticised each other for years, and their respective teams hold vastly different positions on policies from climate change to Russia and trade. Mr Biden, 81, has portrayed Trump as a threat to democracy, while Trump, 78, has portrayed Mr Biden as incompetent.
Trump made false claims of widespread fraud
Trump’s trip to Washington is expected to include a meeting with Republican lawmakers and House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson in the morning, before Mr Biden and Trump meet at 11am EST (12am Singapore time).
Although Mr Biden intends to use the meeting to show continuity, the transition itself is partially stalled.
Trump’s team, which has already announced some members of his Cabinet, has yet to sign agreements that would lead to office space and government equipment as well as access to government officials, facilities and information, according to the White House.
“The Trump-Vance transition lawyers continue to constructively engage with the Biden-Harris administration lawyers regarding all agreements contemplated by the Presidential Transition Act,” said Mr Brian Vance, a spokesman for the Trump transition, referring to the law that governs the transfer of power.
Ms Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Partnership for Public Service’s Centre for Presidential Transition, a non-profit that advises incoming administrations, said the agreement underscores that the US only has one president at a time and includes pledges to sign ethics pacts not to profit off information provided in the transition.
“That needs to be signed for interaction to begin with federal agencies,” she said. “Everything is hinging on that.”
Meetings with federal agencies aside, Mr Biden and Trump will likely discuss a myriad of topics, including foreign policy.
The outgoing president may urge Trump to back Ukraine in its war with Russia. US support for Kyiv is in question following Trump’s victory over Ms Harris last week, as Trump has pledged to end the war quickly without explaining how.
Ms Jean-Pierre declined to outline discussion points between the two men ahead of their meeting.
The meeting will be the first since the two men’s debate in June 2024. Mr Biden’s poor performance then heightened concerns about his age among fellow Democrats and led to his departure from the race. Ms Harris became the Democratic nominee instead, running a truncated campaign that ended in her loss. REUTERS
