By Enyichukwu Enemanna
US President-elect Donald Trump returned to Washington on Wednesday, entering the White House for the first time since he was voted out of office.
He met with President Joe Biden for a traditional ceremony meant to signal the peaceful transfer of power.
The two men appeared briefly for photos, with Biden speaking first and calling for a smooth transition.
Trump responded when he said politics “is tough” but thanked the President for a smooth transition. “You’re welcome,” Biden responded. They did not respond to shouted questions from reporters.
When he lost the 2020 election, Trump did not offer Biden the same meeting, as he refused to concede the election results.
Vice President Kamala Harris who was the candidate of Democrat in the November 5 election conceded defeat last Wednesday before a crowd of supporters in Washington.
Trump was also greeted by First Lady Jill Biden, who gave him a handwritten letter of congratulations for Melania Trump, which also expressed her team’s readiness to assist with the transition, according to her office.
Trump has been in Florida since Election Day, surrounded by allies and advisers as he begins rolling out a list of Cabinet and other prize appointments.
Biden has insisted that the peaceful transfer of power is critical and has vowed since Election Day that his administration would hand over the reins.
“Campaigns are a contest of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country made,” Biden said last week.
“You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree,” he added without directly mentioning Trump’s refusal to concede defeat in 2020.
