Joe Biden and Donald Trump met in the Whitehouse on Wednesday after the Republican won a decisive US presidential election victory.
The pair shook hands and exchanged small talk in the Oval Office in the whitehouse.
Trump thanked Biden for a smooth transition, with the sitting president telling him: “You’re welcome.”
Mr Biden promised Trump a smooth transition of power and to do all he could “to make sure you’re accommodated.”
“It’ll be as smooth as it can get,” Trump replied.
It was a sharp contrast to the criticism the two men have hurled at each other for years. Their respective teams hold vastly different positions on policies from climate change to Russia to trade.
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 after losing the 2020 election to Biden.
Trump’s motorcade rolled through the heavily guarded White House gate and the former and future Republican president was greeted in the Oval Office by Biden, a Democrat who defeated him in the 2020 election.
Outside on the White House driveway, a massive crowd of journalists gathered in anticipation of the big event.
Trump celebrated his victory earlier in the day with Republicans in the House of Representatives who have a good chance of maintaining control of the chamber as November 5 election results trickle in.
“Isn’t it nice to win? It’s nice to win. It’s always nice to win,” Trump said. “The House did very well.”
Biden, who ran against Trump in the 2024 election before stepping aside and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, will welcome the former and future president into the Oval Office, a traditional courtesy by outgoing presidents.
“He believes in the norms, he believes in our institution, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said of Mr Biden’s decision to invite Trump. She spoke at a briefing for reporters on Tuesday.
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 the incoming president’s 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.
“Trump-Vance transition lawyers continue to constructively engage with the Biden-Harris Administration lawyers regarding all agreements contemplated by the Presidential Transition Act,” said Brian Vance, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, referring to the law that governs the transfer of power.
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. U.S. support for Kyiv is in question following Trump’s victory over Harris last week, and 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 at whitehouse will be the first since the two men’s debate in June.
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 short campaign that ended in her loss.
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