President-elect Donald Trump will meet with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Wednesday, according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement.
Trump’s new chief of staff Susie Wiles and Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients have been in contact this week about Trump’s transition and have been coordinating Wednesday’s meeting, according to sources. According to the sources, Wiles, who is also Trump’s campaign manager, and Zients have been in touch over the past few months, discussing topics such as Trump’s first assassination attempt and Secret Service protection.
Conversations with the White House were straightforward and really easy, one of the sources said.
Biden spoke to Trump on Wednesday, the day after the election, to congratulate him on his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris and to invite him to the White House, according to an administration official. Trump said on Thursday that he and Biden agreed to have lunch together “very shortly” when they spoke on the phone.
In addition, future first lady Melania Trump has also been invited to the White House to meet with first lady Jill Biden, though it’s unclear when that might happen. In 2016, then-first lady Michelle Obama hosted Melania Trump for a tea party in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House and gave her a tour of her private residence.
Such meetings are common practice between outgoing and incoming presidents and are meant in part to mark the beginning of a peaceful transition of power in US democracy. However, Trump did not invite Biden to the meeting after the 2020 election when Trump lost his bid for re-election. This was because Trump fought the election results based on lies about voter fraud. He also did not attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
In a speech Thursday, Biden said he had assured Trump “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.”
