President-elect Trump returned to the White House for the first time since being elected 47th President of the United States and since leaving his first term in 2021, thanking President Biden for the "smooth transition."

Nov. 13 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden pledged a smooth transition as he welcomed President-elect Donald Trump to the White House on Wednesday in a reignited tradition Trump balked at in 2020.

President Joe Biden will host President-elect Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday for a meeting designed to demonstrate a smooth transition between administrations despite Trump's team not yet having signed documents to start the handover process. Biden, who initially ran against Trump in the 2024 election before stepping aside and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, will welcome the former and future president into the Oval Office, a traditional courtesy by outgoing presidents that Trump, a Republican, did not extend to Biden in 2020 when he won. FRANCE 24’s International Affairs Commentator Douglas Herbert tells us more.

WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump returned to Washington on Wednesday, entering the White House for the first time since he was voted out of office, to meet with President Joe Biden for a 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 that 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. Trump and Biden next met privately for a “substantive” sit-down that lasted more than 90 minutes and saw the president and his successor dive into a range of pressing foreign and domestic policy issues. According to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Trump and Biden discussed the war in Gaza and the hostages taken captive by Hamas militants during the Oct. 7 attack, and the war in Ukraine. Trump, on the campaign trail, promised to bring to end the war if re-elected.…

Just over a week after his election victory, former and future President Trump returns to the White House on Wednesday to meet in the Oval Office with outgoing President Biden.