‘If you succeed, then the country succeeds’
President Obama welcomes Trump to the White House as it preps for transition
Putting aside any animosity accrued during a lengthy and bitter campaign, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump visited the White House Thursday to meet with President Barack Obama for the sake of a smooth transition of power.
“If you succeed, then the country succeeds,” Obama told Trump during a brief statement for the press as they appeared together after meeting for about an hour and a half. Obama called his conversation with Trump “wide-ranging.”
“We talked about some of the organizational issues in setting up a White House, we talked about foreign policy, we talked about investment policy,” he said.
“I believe that it is important for all of us, regardless of party and regardless of political preferences to now come together, work together, to deal with the many challenges that we face.” Trump noted the meeting was scheduled to last just 10 to 15 minutes, but took much longer than expected and could have gone even longer. Trump called Obama “a very good man” and said he had “great respect” for the outgoing leader.
“We were just going to get to know each other. We had never met each other,” Trump said. “I look forward to being with you many, many times in the future.” Neither Obama nor Trump, who shook hands during the meeting, took questions from the media. As the press shouted questions at the conclusion of their statements, Obama offered his successor a tip.
“Here’s a good rule: don’t answer the questions when they just start yelling,” he said.
“It’s always the last one,” Trump replied.
As president-elect, Trump is entitled to receive the same daily intelligence briefing as Obama, including information on U.S. covert operations and world leaders and other data gathered by America’s 17 intelli- gence agencies. The White House said it would organize two exercises to help Trump’s team learn how to respond to major domestic incidents.
Obama said his main priority was to ensure a smooth transition of power and he wanted Trump and his wife, Melania, to feel welcome as they prepare to move into the White House. Obama said he was encouraged by Trump’s willingness to work with the outgoing president’s team. Michelle Obama and Melania Trump also met Thursday for the first time.
Obama was harshly critical of Trump throughout the campaign, blasting him as unfit to serve as a commander-in-chief.
Trump spent years challenging the legitimacy of Obama’s presidency, falsely suggesting Obama may have been born outside the United States.
If Trump makes good on his campaign promises, he’ll wipe away much of what Obama has done during his eight years in office. The Republican president-elect, who will govern with Congress fully under GOP control, has vowed to repeal Obama’s signature health-care law and dismantle the landmark nuclear accord with Iran.
Trump met later in the day at the Capitol with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who called their encounter “fantastic, productive.” Trump called the meeting “an honour,” adding “I think we’re going to do some absolutely spectacular things for the American people.”
Ryan, who holds the most powerful post in Congress, was at times critical of Trump, slow to endorse him and did not campaign with the nominee.