Joe Biden welcomed Donald Trump back to the White House

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

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.

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.

Trump enters his second term with a total grip on his party and having taken both chambers of Congress.

US networks yesterday projected that the Republican Party had won a majority in the US House of Representatives.

CNN and NBC projected the Republicans would retain control in the 435-seat House, after seizing control of the Senate from Democrats, and Trump’s defeat of Kamala Harris for the presidency.

Meanwhile, 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.