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YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, longtime political rivals, met on Wednesday for the first time since Trump won back the White House last week and both promised a smooth transfer of power in January, Reuters reports.
Biden, a Democrat, defeated Trump in the 2020 election but dropped out of the 2024 race in July after a disastrous debate with the Republican Trump. He handed his candidacy to Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost.
"We're looking forward to having, like we said, a smooth transition, do everything we can to make sure you're accommodated, what you need," Reuters quoted Biden as saying. "Welcome, welcome back."
"Politics is tough, and it's many cases not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate very much a transition that's so smooth it'll be as smooth as it can get, and I very much appreciate that, Joe," said Trump, who takes over on Jan. 20.
Reporters shouted questions but were quickly ushered out.
Biden greeted the former and future U.S. president in the Oval Office.
First Lady Jill Biden joined in greeting Trump on his arrival. The White House said she gave Trump a handwritten letter of congratulations for his wife, Melania Trump, and "expressed her team’s readiness to assist with the transition."
Biden, 81, has portrayed Trump as a threat to democracy, while Trump, 78, has portrayed Biden as incompetent.