Zürcher Nachrichten - 'Welcome back': Trump, Biden shake hands in White House

EUR -
AED 3.826681
AFN 70.961758
ALL 98.138602
AMD 405.652886
ANG 1.877182
AOA 951.190259
ARS 1045.720247
AUD 1.602814
AWG 1.877897
AZN 1.775245
BAM 1.955573
BBD 2.102956
BDT 124.465544
BGN 1.955573
BHD 0.392554
BIF 3076.642669
BMD 1.041829
BND 1.403837
BOB 7.197164
BRL 6.043693
BSD 1.041579
BTN 87.914489
BWP 14.229347
BYN 3.408604
BYR 20419.848375
BZD 2.099456
CAD 1.456529
CDF 2991.091432
CHF 0.930957
CLF 0.036923
CLP 1018.83097
CNY 7.54601
CNH 7.562783
COP 4573.368835
CRC 530.538382
CUC 1.041829
CUP 27.608468
CVE 110.252195
CZK 25.343745
DJF 185.478458
DKK 7.457729
DOP 62.772709
DZD 139.835759
EGP 51.726992
ERN 15.627435
ETB 127.508391
FJD 2.371151
FKP 0.822333
GBP 0.831435
GEL 2.855018
GGP 0.822333
GHS 16.456089
GIP 0.822333
GMD 73.970229
GNF 8977.957272
GTQ 8.040066
GYD 217.904692
HKD 8.109446
HNL 26.320943
HRK 7.431636
HTG 136.72412
HUF 411.522823
IDR 16610.452733
ILS 3.863061
IMP 0.822333
INR 87.968134
IQD 1364.44153
IRR 43834.955489
ISK 145.523076
JEP 0.822333
JMD 165.930728
JOD 0.738765
JPY 161.242873
KES 134.884334
KGS 90.122166
KHR 4193.512952
KMF 492.268155
KPW 937.645704
KRW 1463.259646
KWD 0.320727
KYD 0.867999
KZT 520.059599
LAK 22878.342838
LBP 93271.167197
LKR 303.144792
LRD 187.998165
LSL 18.795317
LTL 3.076251
LVL 0.630192
LYD 5.086409
MAD 10.478083
MDL 18.997794
MGA 4861.435378
MKD 61.522855
MMK 3383.819949
MNT 3540.134882
MOP 8.35093
MRU 41.443187
MUR 48.810083
MVR 16.10707
MWK 1806.090235
MXN 21.281613
MYR 4.654932
MZN 66.583684
NAD 18.795317
NGN 1767.675143
NIO 38.325549
NOK 11.531328
NPR 140.663663
NZD 1.78585
OMR 0.400943
PAB 1.041579
PEN 3.949541
PGK 4.193513
PHP 61.404399
PKR 289.239507
PLN 4.337676
PYG 8131.055634
QAR 3.798559
RON 4.978071
RSD 116.991412
RUB 108.671879
RWF 1421.834864
SAR 3.911473
SBD 8.734231
SCR 14.272055
SDG 626.663972
SEK 11.501974
SGD 1.402931
SHP 0.822333
SLE 23.68116
SLL 21846.638123
SOS 595.230868
SRD 36.978718
STD 21563.75683
SVC 9.113941
SYP 2617.626467
SZL 18.788818
THB 35.922648
TJS 11.092512
TMT 3.646401
TND 3.309016
TOP 2.440072
TRY 36.018972
TTD 7.074178
TWD 33.946439
TZS 2770.578216
UAH 43.089995
UGX 3848.553017
USD 1.041829
UYU 44.294855
UZS 13362.448044
VES 48.506662
VND 26482.251319
VUV 123.688032
WST 2.90836
XAF 655.880824
XAG 0.033274
XAU 0.000384
XCD 2.815595
XDR 0.792308
XOF 655.880824
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.379151
ZAR 18.862746
ZMK 9377.71492
ZMW 28.772658
ZWL 335.468513
  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • RBGPF

    59.2400

    59.24

    +100%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    6.79

    -0.15%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

'Welcome back': Trump, Biden shake hands in White House
'Welcome back': Trump, Biden shake hands in White House / Photo: SAUL LOEB - AFP

'Welcome back': Trump, Biden shake hands in White House

Joe Biden welcomed Donald Trump back to the White House on Wednesday, in a show of civility to a bitter rival who failed to extend him the same courtesy four years ago.

Text size:

The US president and president-elect shook hands in front of a roaring fire in the Oval Office as they pledged a smooth transition -- a stark contrast to Trump's refusal to recognize his 2020 defeat.

"Welcome back," Biden, 81, said as he congratulated the 78-year-old Trump and offered brief opening remarks to the man he has repeatedly slammed as a threat to democracy.

Biden, who dropped out of the election in July but saw his successor Kamala Harris lose to Trump last week, said he was "looking forward to having a smooth transition" and pledged to do "everything we can to make sure you're accommodated."

As the two presidents with a combined age of 159 years shook hands, Biden appeared to look down while Trump leaned forward and looked him in the eyes.

Trump riled up a mob that attacked the US Capitol in 2021 and ran a brutal and divisive election campaign this year -- but sought to strike a gracious tone on his return visit to the White House.

"Politics is tough, and in many cases it's not a very nice world. It is a nice world today and I appreciate it very much," Trump said.

Trump added that the transfer of power would be "smooth as you can get" -- despite the fact that his transition team has not yet signed some key legal documents ahead of his inauguration as president on January 20.

- No Melania -

Absent from the occasion was incoming first lady Melania Trump, who was a shadowy presence on the campaign trail and spent much of Trump's first term away from the White House.

Outgoing First Lady Jill Biden joined Biden in welcoming Trump and "gave Mr. Trump a handwritten letter of congratulations for Mrs Trump," the White House said.

The only other people in the room for talks after the handshake were Biden's chief of staff Jeff Zients and Trump's incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles, the White House said.

Biden was expected to push during the meeting for Trump to continue US support for Ukraine's fight against Russia, which the Republican has called into question.

Biden's Oval Office invitation restored a presidential transition tradition that Trump tore up when he lost the 2020 election, refusing to sit down with Biden or even attend the inauguration.

But by the time Trump took his last flight from the White House lawn on January 20, 2021, he had also been repudiated by many in his own party for having stoked the assault on the Capitol.

That period of disgrace soon evaporated, however, as Republicans returned to Trump's side, recognizing the billionaire's unique electoral power at the head of his right-wing movement.

- Third term? -

Trump enters his second term with a near total grip on his party and is expected to take both chambers of Congress -- while the Democrats are in disarray.

Ahead of the White House visit, Trump addressed Republicans from the House of Representatives at a Washington hotel.

An ebullient Trump suggested that he could even be open to a third term in office -- which would violate the US constitution.

"I suspect I won't be running again unless you say, 'He's good, we got to figure something else,'" he said, drawing some laughter.

Former reality TV star Trump, who has promised to be a "dictator on day one," is moving quickly to fill out his administration, picking a host of ultra-loyalists.

He was accompanied at the meeting with Republicans by the world's richest man Elon Musk, whom he named on Tuesday as head of a new group aimed at slashing government spending.

He also nominated Fox News host and army veteran Pete Hegseth as his incoming defense secretary. An opponent of so-called "woke" ideology in the armed forces, Hegseth has little experience similar to managing the world's most powerful military.

Trump named South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem -- an ally who famously wrote about shooting her dog because it did not respond to training -- as head of the Department of Homeland Security.

M.Hug--NZN