Former and future President Donald Trump returned to Washington on November 13th, revisiting the Oval Office. This marks the businessman’s first visit to the capital since winning the presidential election.
President Joe Biden extended the invitation to his predecessor and successor as part of a ceremonial tradition aimed at ensuring a smooth and peaceful transfer of power.
During a brief photo opportunity at the outset of their nearly two-hour meeting, the two leaders shook hands. Biden, 81, congratulated Trump, 78, and expressed his anticipation for a seamless transition.
The meeting, complete with images of the pair by the iconic fireplace, quickly became fodder for memes and witty commentary on social media.
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The Internet Reacts To Historic Donald Trump Meeting With Joe Biden At The Oval Office
After ABC News uploaded a video of Biden and Trump to Instagram, users headed to the comments section to share their thoughts.
“That’s America burning in that fireplace,” one wrote as another added: “How it should be, like mature people.” Someone else chimed in: “he didn’t welcome Joe to the White House when he was elected” as one other noted: “I could never. Biden is a better human.”
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An additional X (formerly Twitter) user shared: "President-elect Trump meeting with his most high profile voter, President Biden!" One other wrote: "Shoutout to the real MVP of the Biden/Trump meeting…the fire. Look at that thing. Beautiful."
During the meeting itself, Biden offered his congratulations to Trump and expressed his anticipation for a seamless and "smooth" transition of power. Trump replied: "It will be as smooth as it can get and I very much appreciate that, Joe."
He continued: "Politics is tough and in many cases it's not a nice world, but it is a nice world today." Biden and Trump engaged in private conversations with White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, as well as Susie Wiles, who will assume the role when Trump takes office in January, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre informed reporters.
Jean-Pierre didn't get into too much detail, as reported by NPR, but Biden said Trump was "gracious" and "came with a detailed set of questions," according to the press secretary.
