A Quick Overview Of The Trump-Obama Meeting
President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump shake hands following their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
On Thursday, President Obama met with President-Elect Donald Trump at the White House to discuss a successful transition of power for the surprise winner of the 2016 election, Donald Trump.
This will be the first person-to-person meeting between the two given their tumultuous history. Trump, who unsuccessfully led the birther movement as a way to delegitimize Barack Obama’s Presidency, has promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act; leaving 21 million people uninsured. And Obama, who once humiliated Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2011, hopes to prevent his legacy from being undone.
Both men traded heated barbs throughout the campaign, but on Wednesday, President Obama appeared to extend an olive branch to President Elect Trump when he said:
“ Eight years ago, President Bush and I had some pretty significant differences, but President Bush’s team could not have been more professional or more gracious in making sure we had a smooth transition, so I have instructed my team to follow the example that President Bush’s team set.”
Other Democratic Politicians also seem to be warming up to the idea of a Trump White House, as they begin to urge cooperation with their newly elected President. Including House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who sees a path to cooperation through the rebuilding of our infrastructure:
“As President-elect Trump indicated last night, investing in infrastructure is an important priority of his. We can work together to quickly pass a robust infrastructure jobs bill,” Pelosi said in a statement.
And on Thursday, Chris Christie, who is leading Trump’s transition team, told NBC’s Today Show:
“We heard a lot about the peaceful transfer of power during this election, and I think you’ll see that symbolized today.”
Though not everyone is taking the news with the same civility. Nationwide protests have erupted upon hearing the news of Donald Trump’s victory. Even now, there are unhappy voters protesting outside the White House as the Obama-Trump meeting takes place. However, it’s important to note that Clinton urged her supporters to give Trump an “open mind,” and Obama has said that he’s “rooting” for his successor.
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As part of this peaceful transition of power the White House has planned two “inter-agency exercises” for Trump’s team that will focus on the handling and responding “to major domestic incidents,” and will be informing President-Elect Trump’s representatives with briefings on U.S. federal agencies.
Here are Obama and Trump’s full remarks after their 90 minute meeting:
Mike Pence and Vice President Joe Biden will also meet on Thursday.
