US presidential election 2024: Joe Biden prepares for an orderly transition with Donald Trump

The handover is underway. U.S. President Joe Biden will welcome Donald Trump to the White House this Wednesday, November 13 at 5 p.m. (French time) for a meeting in the Oval Office, his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre has confirmed. The meeting aims to lay the foundations for a smooth transition to the new administration, where controversial figures such as Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could play key roles. According to his team, Donald Trump is “eager to participate in this exchange” to organize his planned arrival in January.

On Thursday, Joe Biden reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring a “peaceful and orderly” transfer of power with his successor, Republican Donald Trump, who won the election against Kamala Harris. Trump will now have 74 days to form his government.

A call for national unity

In his speech following his opponent’s victory, Joe Biden sent a message of unity: “I hope we can, whatever our political choices, see each other as fellow citizens rather than as opponents.” Yet the outgoing president is facing criticism from within his own camp, which blames him for facilitating Donald Trump’s comeback by maintaining a candidacy that seemed doomed to failure. Asked about this, Karine Jean-Pierre preferred not to comment on the speculation, recalling that Joe Biden is “proud of his record.”