Inside Trump and Biden’s ‘gracious’ and ‘cordial’ two-hour White House meeting – where the president-elect had a long list of questions

Wednesday was all about Donald Trump and that’s exactly how he likes it.

The president-elect rolled triumphantly into Washington DC on Wednesday, landing at Joint Base Andrews and taking a motorcade to the capital, where he received a thunderous welcome from his party, followed by a return to the Oval Office.

The scene was in stark contrast to the way Trump left the White House four years ago: beaten down and defeated, insisting he was the real winner of the 2020 election and refusing to meet his successor Joe Biden.

But after the bitter pill of defeat, he now enjoyed the sweetness of victory.

A hero’s welcome awaited him at a Washington hotel, as House Republicans cheered when he came to address them

Lawmakers took to social media to thank him for coming and posted flattering words and photos from the meeting.

Speaker Mike Johnson declared of Trump, “He’s the comeback king.”

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, sat in the audience and watched Trump receive the applause.

Later, President Joe Biden greeted Trump as a visiting head of state, welcoming him to the White House Diplomatic Room and leading him through the colonnade to the Oval Office.

Biden showed Trump around his old residence and pointed out the changes he had made. One object was known: the Resolute Desk. Biden, like Trump, chose to use the massive wooden desk that was a gift from Queen Victoria to the United States.

The men met for two hours, with only their top aides — chief of staff Jeff Zients and Trump’s new chief of staff Susie Wiles — at their sides.

The setting was cozy with a fire in the fireplace. Some of the nation’s greatest presidents – Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington – stared down at them from portraits on the wall.

Trump came prepared with a list of seven questions to ask Biden.

According to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the meeting was friendly, cordial and substantive.

“It was a substantive meeting and exchange of ideas,” she said, adding that the leaders discussed foreign and domestic policies, financing the government and a peaceful transition of power.

The day just got better for Trump. After he left the White House, Republicans strengthened their control in Washington when enough races were called up to give them control of the House of Representatives. They had the Senate sewn up on election night.

And the conversation about Trump continued when he announced a series of controversial Cabinet appointments, including former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as his Director of National Intelligence and Rep. Matt Gaetz as his attorney general.

But the biggest prize of all for the new president was his return to the Oval Office.

President Joe Biden walks with newly elected President Donald Trump through the colonnade from the White House to the Oval Office

President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office

“We had a really good meeting,” Trump told the press New York Post after it ended.

Only the first few minutes of the meeting were open to the press. The two men were cordial during the conversation. They shake hands. They called each other by their first names.

“I think you can tell from the length of the meeting that they had an in-depth conversation on a range of topics,” Jean-Pierre noted. “But for almost two hours he says a lot about how the meeting went.”

‘It was friendly, it was substantive. And I think that’s the most important thing. And what we’re showing the American people is how to do this, how to have a peaceful transition of power, what that looks like and how to lead by example, and that’s very essential,” she added.

Trump has committed to a peaceful transition process, which is very different from the way he went about it four years ago, when he falsely claimed he had won the 2020 election.

It “will go as smoothly as possible and I really appreciate that, Joe,” he told Biden.

Neither man answered questions from reporters. At one point, Biden looked at Trump, who moved his head to the side and shrugged his shoulders but did not respond.

Trump told The New York Post that he and Biden discussed two issues on which they differed, including the war in Ukraine and Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.

“I asked for his opinion and he gave it to me,” Trump said. ‘We also talked a lot about the Middle East. I wanted to know his opinion on where we stand and what he thinks. And he gave them to me, he was very friendly.’

Jean-Pierre declined to say whether the 2020 election had been discussed, saying the White House was looking “forward.”

It is unclear how long Trump’s grandstanding will last. He has repeatedly mocked Biden and questioned the president’s mental capabilities.

Four years ago, Trump left Washington before Biden’s inauguration on January 20, 2021, becoming the first president to skip his successor’s swearing-in since Andrew Johnson.

When he won the 2016 election and entered the Oval Office, Trump appeared nervous and unusually subdued. He called then-President Barack Obama “a good man” and the meeting “a great honor.” Trump had previously questioned whether Obama was an American and demanded to see his birth certificate.

Shortly after that meeting, Trump was back to his insults.

But on Wednesday, Trump seemed at ease and, frankly, back at home.

He knows the place well, having lived there for four years.

President Joe Biden shakes hands with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office

Trump and Biden sat in front of the current president’s favorite paintings of predecessors and busts of civil rights leaders

Melania Trump was absent and did not meet with Jill Biden. Traditionally, the outgoing first lady hosts her successor for tea at the residence while the Oval Office meeting takes place.

Jill Biden joined her husband to greet Trump upon his arrival and gave him a handwritten letter of congratulations for Melania. She also pledged the team’s willingness to help with the transition.

The two men plan to stay in touch, Jean-Pierre said.

And Trump told the New York Post that he and Biden plan to meet again before the inauguration, which Biden has promised to attend.

‘The Oval Office is so beautiful and I’m definitely looking forward to it [to coming back]he said.

Trump and Biden last met two months ago at a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York on September 11.

Before that, their last meeting was their televised debate on June 27, which was catastrophic for Biden’s campaign and ultimately led to his exit from the race.