President Biden will host President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office Wednesday for a traditional post-election meeting, the White House said Saturday.
Biden called Trump this past Wednesday to congratulate him on beating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the general election and invited him to meet in the Oval Office, officials said.
Their upcoming meeting is slated for 11 a.m.
Although such meetings are customary between outgoing and incoming presidents to give the appearance of a peaceful transfer of power, Trump, 78, didn’t host his Democratic rival for such a sit-down in 2020 after he lost a re-election bid to Biden, 81.
At the time, Trump had not conceded the race, and the world was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump and Biden briefly saw each other in Lower Manhattan for the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, but this will be their first extended face-time together since Biden’s disastrous debate performance in June that led to Nancy Pelosi and other Dems’ pressuring him to drop out of the race.
In a speech Thursday, Biden said he had assured Trump the day before “that I would direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition. That’s what the American people deserve.”
The lame-duck president asserted that Democrats have no intention of challenging the election results.
“I hope we can lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system. It is honest, it is fair, it is transparent and it can be trusted. Win or lose,” Biden said.
He also expressed hope that the peaceful transition of power would initiate a resolve between the bitterly partisan cultural that has engulfed the country over the past several years.
“We accept the choice the country made,” he 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.
“Something I hope we can do no matter who you voted for is see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans. Bring down the temperature.”
Biden extended the invite to Trump the day after Election Day, when the race was formally called in his favor — and said he congratulated the president-elect on the victory.
Although he described the election loss as a “setback,” he reiterated his confidence that Harris was the best choice to take his place when he dropped out of the race in July.
“What America saw today was the Kamala Harris I know and deeply admire. She’s been a tremendous partner and public servant full of integrity, courage, and character,” Biden said.
“Under extraordinary circumstances, she stepped up and led a historic campaign that embodied what’s possible when guided by a strong moral compass and a clear vision for a nation that is more free, more just, and full of more opportunities for all Americans.”
Biden also reportedly plans to attend Trump’s inauguration in January, which his soon-to-be successor didn’t do four years earlier.
Trump is the first former president to return to power since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election.
