Photo: AFP File
Joe Biden will meet with President-elect Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday, following the US leader's pledge to ensure an orderly transfer of power back to the Republican he defeated in elections four years ago. Trump, who never conceded his 2020 loss, secured a remarkable return to the presidency in the November 5 vote, solidifying what is expected to be over a decade of US politics shaped by his hardline right-wing policies. This type of meeting between outgoing and incoming presidents was traditionally customary, but Trump did not extend an invitation to Biden after making unfounded claims of election fraud that led to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Trump also broke precedent by not attending Biden's inauguration, but the White House has confirmed that the Democratic president will be present at the upcoming ceremony.
Biden's meeting with Trump will occur in the Oval Office, according to the White House on Saturday, as the countdown to the former president's return to power continues. Despite facing a criminal conviction, two impeachments during his term, and warnings from his former chief of staff that he is a 'fascist,' the 78-year-old ex-reality TV star Trump achieved broader support than before. Exit polls indicated that voters' primary concerns were the economy and inflation, which surged under Biden following the Covid pandemic.
The 81-year-old president, who withdrew from the White House race in July due to concerns about his age, health, and mental acuity, phoned Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him on his election victory. Democrats have been scrutinizing who is responsible for the significant loss of Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden at the top of the ticket about 100 days before the election. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Biden, telling The New York Times that 'had the president stepped out sooner, there might have been other candidates in the race.' 'Because the president immediately endorsed Kamala Harris, it made it nearly impossible to have a primary at that time. If it had been much earlier, it would have been different,' Pelosi added, reportedly playing a crucial role in persuading Biden to step aside.
Pelosi emphasized that any review of the election should highlight the strengths of Harris, whom she commended for generating 'a great deal of excitement in all this.' As Democrats assess what went wrong, Trump has started assembling his second administration by appointing campaign manager Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff. She is the first woman to hold this high-profile position and the Republican's first appointment to his incoming administration. Trump on Saturday ruled out re-appointing two senior figures from his first administration, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Pompeo had proposed a hawkish plan for Ukraine in July involving increased weapons transfers and aggressive measures against Russia's energy sector, which analysts noted on Saturday was at odds with other key Trump supporters. Haley, a former South Carolina governor, had previously challenged Trump for the Republican Party's nomination earlier this year. 'I very much appreciated working with them previously and would like to thank them for their service to our country,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Former Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who called Trump a 'con artist' and the 'most vulgar person to ever aspire to the presidency' in 2016, are seen as frontrunners for the Secretary of State position. Other potential candidates for a role in the Trump 2.0 administration reflect the significant changes it is likely to implement. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent figure in the anti-vaccine movement for whom Trump has promised a 'big role' in healthcare, told NBC News on Wednesday that 'I'm not going to take away anybody's vaccines.' The world's richest man, Elon Musk, could also be in line for a job auditing government waste after the right-wing SpaceX, Tesla, and X boss enthusiastically backed Trump.
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