Nearly four years after the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol, President-elect Donald Trump will return today to Washington D.C., this time as victorious, to meet with President Biden in the Oval Office; the visit is a traditional moment that is part of the practice of the peaceful transfer of power between the two administrations.
Such a meeting, however, did not take place after Joe Biden’s election in 2020, as then-President Trump always refused to acknowledge his electoral defeat, alleging election fraud, which was later refuted by multiple courts.
Trump, in addition to visiting the White House, will hold a meeting with Republican members of Congress to finalize the priorities of his political agenda, especially considering that both branches of Congress, House and Senate, are now under full GOP control.
House Speaker Mike Johnson himself said he was enthusiastic and that Republicans are “ready to deliver on Trump’s America First agenda.”
After the outcome of the election Biden said he was ready and willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that the transfer of power is peaceful; in his first speech after Trump’s victory he remarked, “The American experiment endures. We’re going to be okay.”
White House secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also said that Biden is committed to “making sure that this transition is effective, efficient and he’s doing that because it is the norm, yes, but also the right thing to do for the American people.”
Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, reinforced this message, stating that the administration is committed to a “responsible handoff from one president to the next, which reflects the best traditions of our country.”
Moreover, while the outgoing president receives the president-elect in the Oval Office, the first lady also extends the invitation to the president-elect’s wife; however, it would appear that Melania Trump declined, not to say snubbed, the invitation from Jill Biden.
Melania and Jill have had a complicated relationship in the past, particularly after Trump’s decision not to invite the Bidens to the White House after the 2020 election.
It would appear that the relationship between Melania and Jill soured after Trump’s assassination attempt last July 12; as a matter of fact, Jill called Melania to offer her support, but the latter had doubts about the “genuineness” of the call after Jill called her husband “evil” and “a liar” during the campaign.
According to new reports, Melania allegedly did not accept the invitation as she is still resentful after the raid by the FBI at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach in August 2022.
