Biden welcomes President-elect Trump to White House for nearly two-hour transition meeting

President Biden welcomes President-elect Donald Trump to the Oval Office for a nearly two-hour transition meeting, a ritual of peaceful handoff that Trump himself refused to participate in four years earlier when he boycotted Biden's inauguration. Biden tells Trump he looks forward to "a peaceful transition" and pledges to do "everything we can" to make the administration change smooth. They discuss Ukraine, the Gaza war, and pending government business. Melania Trump does not attend, breaking with tradition. Jill Biden sends her a handwritten congratulatory letter. The meeting is widely characterized as striking for its civility given the bitterness of their rivalry and the January 6 aftermath.