Alert – Trump tells Biden ‘politics is tough’ as they hold historic White House meeting after his election victory

Donald Trump thanked President Joe Biden for ensuring a smooth transition and said politics is ‘tough’ as they held a marathon two-hour meeting at the White House after the Republican’s stunning defeat of Kamala Harris.

Biden, 81, congratulated the president-elect and said ‘welcome back’ when they sat down for what appeared to be amicable talks in the Oval Office.

The meeting, which many had expected would be tense and awkward, started off cozily with the two men seated before a roaring fire. 

Trump wore a red tie and Biden sported a maroon one. Some of the country’s greatest presidents – Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington – stared down on them from portraits on the wall. 

In a short glimpse the public got the atmosphere seemed cordial, with each man calling the other by their first name. They shook hands. Harris, Biden’s vice president who Trump defeated, was not present nor was she mentioned. 

Biden was in the unusual position of greeting the man who both preceded him, and will replace him, in the White House. Trump won in a landslide on November 5, taking the popular vote and Electoral College, and sweeping the seven key swing states.

‘Well Mr. President-elect, Donald, congratulations,’ Biden said. ‘I look forward to having a smooth transition.’

Donald Trump thanked President Joe Biden for ensuring a smooth transition and said politics is ‘tough’ in their historic meeting at the White House after the Republican’s defeat of Kamala Harris 

Trump thanked him and adopted a noticeably different tone than he had on the campaign trail.

'Politics is tough,' the president-elect said. 'In many cases it is not a nice world, but it is a nice world today.'

Trump said of the transition process: 'It will be as smooth as it can get and I very much appreciate that, Joe.'

Melania Trump was not with her husband. But first lady Jill Biden joined President Biden in greeting Trump upon his arrival to the White House.

She gave the president-elect a handwritten letter of congratulations for Melania, which also expressed her team's readiness to assist with the transition.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden were cordial, shaking hands and calling each other by their first name during their meeting

Trump wore a red tie and Biden sported a maroon one. Some of the country's greatest presidents - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington - stared down on them from their portraits on the wall

The 81-year-old Biden congratulated the president-elect and said 'welcome back' as they sat down for talks in the Oval Office

The outgoing president and president-elect grasp hands

Biden's White House chief of staff Jeff Zients and Trump's incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles, attended the meeting with their bosses.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other staffers had accompanied Trump to Washington D.C. and to his early meetings in the capital, but were not present in the Oval Office.

The Oval Office meeting ended after roughly two hours, a White House official said.

In 2016, when Trump was hosted by President Barack Obama after his election victory, a similar meeting lasted 90 minutes.    

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

Before that their last encounter was their televised debate on June 27, which was catastrophic for Biden's campaign and ultimately led to him leaving the race.

For Trump, who has been busy this week naming top cabinet and West Wing picks, it was a grand return to the seat of power from which he was vanquished four years ago.

The Oval Office is home to the Resolute Desk, the same desk he used to sit at.

Before his meeting with Biden, Trump addressed House Republicans at a hotel on Capitol Hill. He had flown to Washington D.C. from Palm Beach, Florida on Wednesday morning, landing at Andrews Air Force Base. 

'Isn't it nice to win?,' he told his party members to great applause at the hotel. 'It's nice to win.'

In addition to winning the White House, Republicans took control of the Senate. The House has yet to be called but many expect the GOP to be in the majority there too when the final races are tallied.

Speaking to the Republican lawmakers Trump also hinted he'd be available for a third term, telling them jokingly: 'I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say “He’s so good we’ve got to figure something else out."'

The joke drew laughter from the Republican lawmakers.

Congress would have to amend the Constitution if Trump wanted to serve more than two terms. 

Trump, who endorsed Mike Johnson for House Speaker during the event, also had warm words for his party.  

'I just want to thank everybody,' the president-elect said. 'You've been incredible. We worked with a lot of you.'

Meanwhile, Biden, who defeated Trump four yeas ago and always believed he could beat him again in a rematch, has been focused on his final days in office. 

Ahead of his meeting with Trump, he bragged about his record as president.

Biden, speaking at the Classroom to Career Event taking place at the White House, pointed to the number of jobs he created.

‘We have created 16 million new jobs, brand new jobs, since I took office, the most in any single presidential term,’ he said.

He added that inflation and unemployment are back down near their pre-pandemic levels.

And he got in a hit at Trump, saying he is more invested in buying American than his predecessor.

‘This past administration failed to do that. Like I said so much was exported overseas,’ he said. ‘Not on my watch. My administration buys American.’

Microphones from the press hover over Trump and Biden as they discuss the election and the transition into Trump's term

Trump and Biden smirk as reporters shout questions at them during their White House meeting on Thursday 

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

Reporters waiting in the Oval Office were ushered out so that Trump and Biden could carry on their talks 

Biden was animated at times during the cordial meeting, eight days after his vice president's heavy defeat in the election  

Elon Musk, left, sits with Kelly Johnson, wife of House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., as President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a meeting of the House GOP conference

President-elect Donald Trump met with House Republicans ahead of his meeting with Biden

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden held an education event at the White House

Media members wait outside as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and President Joe Biden meet at the White House

Both Biden and Trump have made clear they dislike the other. And neither man has held back when it comes to criticizing the other.

Biden has called Trump a threat to democracy, suggested he be locked up, and referred to his supporters as 'garbage.' Before he dropped out of the race in July, he hoped to defeat Trump for four more years in the White House. However, growing pressure from Democratic insiders led to him withdrawing and endorsing Harris. 

Trump has questioned Biden's mental health, threatened to lock up his son Hunter and prosecute any Democrat he feels is an enemy.

However, speaking on Tuesday ahead of the meeting White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: 'We want this to go well.'

The Biden White House laid the ground work for that to happen. Biden called Trump shortly after he won last week to offer his congratulations, pledge a peaceful transfer of power, and invite him to the Oval Office for a meeting – a traditional gesture for a departing-president to offer to the incoming one.

Since the election Biden has notably not spoken out against Trump as he had during the heated presidential campaign. For his part, Trump also has refrained from criticizing the current administration. Instead he's focused on filling staff and cabinet positions, announcing a flood of hires. 

Still, the dark shadow of history loomed over Wednesday's meeting. Adding to the awkwardness was the fact that Trump offered no such Oval Office meeting to Biden after the Democrat won the 2020 election.  

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

The meeting between current and future presidents is essentially a photo-op but an important one, showing the world the United States is a nation where leaders peacefully hand over power.

President Biden 'wants to show the American people that the system works, to trust the institutions, to trust that the norms do matter here, that he is showing by leadership what a peaceful transition looks like,' Jean-Pierre said.

When the two men met on Wednesday it was technically be the first time since 1992 that an outgoing president sat down with an incoming one he competed against in a campaign.

That year, outgoing President George H.W. Bush met with President-elect Bill Clinton about two weeks after they squared off on Election Day.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who Trump defeated, did not join the Oval Office sit down.

The last time a sitting Vice President lost out after running for the top job was the 2000 election. Al Gore joined Clinton and incoming President George W. Bush in a meeting that was described as unpleasant.

Trump's entourage for the trip to Washington included Elon Musk and new senior staff in his administration

Trump steps off of his jet at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, to start his triumphant return to Capitol Hill 

The logo on Trump Force One is shown prominently as it sits on the tarmac 

President Barack Obama, right, meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in November 2016

Former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden congratulate President Donald Trump after he took the oath of office on January 20, 2017

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

The two couples have met. Biden attended Trump's 2017 inauguration in his role as outgoing vice president. Jill Biden was also there. The Bidens will attend Trump's inauguration in January 2025, according to the White House.

Traditionally, the outgoing president welcomes the incoming one to the White House on the morning of the inauguration before riding together in the same vehicle to the Capitol building for the swearing in. The spouses also ride together.

Trump rode with then-President Barack Obama to his own inauguration. 

Biden is now in the process of packing up, while Trump is already shaping his White House team.

He's named campaign manager Susie Wiles as his chief of staff and longtime aide Stephen Miller will be his deputy chief of staff. Rep. Michael Walz will be his National Security Adviser and Senator Marco Rubio will be his secretary of state.

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency, a new department Trump is creating to cut government waste.

Donald and Melania Trump leave the White House on January 20th, 2021 and do not attend Joe Biden's inauguration

Michelle Obama hosted Melania Trump for tea in the Yellow Oval Room in November 3016

Trump has been through this before. Then-President Barack Obama invited him to the Oval Office shortly after the 2016 election to congratulate him on his victory.

When he entered the Oval Office at that time, Trump appeared nervous and was unusually subdued, calling Obama 'a good man' and the meeting 'a great honor.' Previously, Trump had questioned if Obama was even an American and demanded to see his birth certificate.

Obama's White House press secretary Josh Earnest described the two men's meeting as 'at least a little less awkward than some might have expected.'