President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are welcoming President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump to the White House following a service at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Typically after the morning service, the president-elect, vice president-elect, and their spouses usually visit the White House, where the president-elect and the outgoing president hold a brief private meeting.
This year, Biden and Trump, along with their spouses, are expected to have tea together at the White House. Traditionally, the outgoing president then accompanies the president-elect to the US Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony.
“Welcome home,” President Joe Biden told his successor, President-elect Donald Trump, as he greeted him at the White House’s North Portico on Monday.
Trump’s return to the White House amounts to a disappointment for Biden, who once saw himself as the person to prevent his rival’s return to power, according to CNN
He belied any sore feelings as he shook hands with Trump on Monday, welcoming him for the traditional tea and coffee ahead of the swearing-in.
Asked his message for the day, Biden said only: “Joy.”
White House officials familiar with the planning say there was never any debate as to whether the outgoing president would participate in ceremonial steps, despite the fact that four years ago, Trump did not extend these same courtesies to Biden.
As one official put it, it was “very important to him to honor the traditions, do this by the book, and as tradition has laid out.”
