Donald Trump will make a triumphant return to the White House on Wednesday, meeting President Joe Biden for the first time since his departure nearly four years ago amid a cloud of scandal.
This meeting comes as Trump, now the Republican front-runner for the 2024 election, moves swiftly to assemble his new team. Among his key appointments is Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who will head a new initiative focused on reducing government waste.
The meeting, which will take place in the Oval Office, marks a stark contrast to the 2020 election aftermath, when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory and declined to meet with him. Despite their ongoing political rivalry, Biden invited Trump to the White House, a gesture aimed at restoring traditional presidential norms.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explained that Biden’s invitation is grounded in a belief in democratic norms and institutions. “The American people deserve this. They deserve a peaceful transfer of power,” she said on Tuesday.
During their 11:00 AM (1600 GMT) meeting, Biden, 81, is expected to encourage a smooth transition and continue advocating for strong U.S. support for Ukraine, a policy that Trump has publicly criticized.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Biden will use the meeting to discuss critical foreign policy issues, including ongoing U.S. support for Kyiv in its conflict with Russia. Sullivan emphasized that Biden would “explain to President Trump how he sees things” and seek to understand Trump’s stance on key matters.
For Biden, the meeting may be a challenging one. As a fierce critic of Trump, Biden has repeatedly warned that Trump’s actions pose a threat to democracy. In fact, Biden was once Trump’s rival in the 2020 presidential race, but his own campaign was derailed after a poor debate performance.
The meeting, which may also include a potential visit by Trump to the U.S. Capitol — the site of the January 6, 2021, insurrection — comes as Trump’s political comeback appears all but assured. His Republican Party is poised to take control of both chambers of Congress, solidifying Trump’s dominance within the party.
Biden’s invitation to Trump also reinstates a presidential tradition that Trump upended after his 2020 defeat. When Trump lost to Biden, he refused to meet with him or attend the inauguration. In contrast, when Trump won in 2016, then-President Barack Obama welcomed him to the White House for a smooth transition.
Now, four years after Trump’s controversial departure, he returns to a transformed political landscape. The once-disgraced former president has regained control of the Republican Party, which has rallied behind him despite his involvement in the Capitol riot.
As Trump prepares for his second term, he is working from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to build his administration. In a series of high-profile announcements, he has appointed Elon Musk to lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), along with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. He has also chosen Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and military veteran, as his incoming defense secretary, and named South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security.
Trump’s choices reflect his plans to move forward with a bold agenda, including isolationist policies, mass deportations, and significant tariff measures. While some of his picks, like Senator Marco Rubio for Secretary of State, suggest a more hawkish stance on global issues, Trump’s past rhetoric has also included threats to scale back U.S. commitments to NATO and other international alliances.
