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WASHINGTON — After savaging President Barack Obama before and during his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump met him in person for the first time on Thursday and said he had “great respect” for him.
The Oval Office meeting was cordial, given that Trump’s presidential bid was launched on the lie that Obama, a Hawaii native, was not a legitimate president because he was not born in the U.S.
The meeting was professional, given that Trump is vowing to rip up as much of Obama’s legacy as possible, with a priority to repeal Obamacare, Obama’s signature health insurance law.
The meeting was civil, given that Obama barnstormed for Hillary Clinton saying Trump was not fit to be commander in chief.
Obama said the “excellent conversation” he had with Trump covered “organizational issues in setting up the White House” and foreign and domestic policy.
The tensions remaining from the bitter campaign were obvious — from the body language between Trump and Obama to the lack of a photo with the incoming and departing president and their wives.
In 2008, President George Bush and his wife, Laura, and the Obamas posed in front of the White House in their first joint visit.
OPINION
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First lady Michelle Obama served Melania Trump tea and gave her a tour of the official residence and other parts of the White House while their husbands met, later taking her to the Oval Office.
Trump spent more than 90 minutes with Obama — more than the 10 or 15 minutes Trump said he had anticipated. Later, at the briefing, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Obama had carved out more time for their meeting.
Trump had entered the White House via a South Lawn entrance. Reporters were not allowed to witness Trump’s historic entry into the White House for the first time since his stunning surprise election win on Tuesday. Trump’s staff, in fact, has not allowed a member of a press pool to cover the movements of the president-elect, a break with decades of precedent.
This was Melania Trump’s first visit to the White House. Trump has been to the White House before, including attending a state dinner in 1985 and a 1987 reception.
Sitting next to Trump, Obama said, “my number one priority in the coming two months is to try to facilitate a transition that ensures our President-elect is successful.”
“And I have been very encouraged by the, I think, interest in President-elect Trump’s wanting to work with my team around many of the issues that this great country faces. And 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.
“. . . Most of all, I want to emphasize to you, Mr. President-elect, that we now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed — because if you succeed, then the country succeeds.”
Trump said, “Well, thank you very much, President Obama. This was a meeting that was going to last for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, and we were just going to get to know each other. We had never met each other. I have great respect. The meeting lasted for almost an hour and a half. And it could have — as far as I’m concerned, it could have gone on for a lot longer.
“We really — we discussed a lot of different situations, some wonderful and some difficulties. I very much look forward to dealing with the President in the future, including counsel. He explained some of the difficulties, some of the high-flying assets and some of the really great things that have been achieved.
“So, Mr. President, it was a great honor being with you, and I look forward to being with you many, many more times in the future.”
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough was spotted walking on the South Lawn with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a key campaign adviser. Trump spokesman Hope Hicks met with Obama’s communication team members Jen Psaki, Earnest and Liz Allen.
After the White House meeting, Trump headed to Capitol Hill to meet with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Vice President-elect Gov. Mike Pence met with Vice President Joe Biden at the White House for about 30 minutes.
The inauguration is on Jan. 20 and construction of the reviewing stands in front of the White House has started. The Obama administration started working on transition planning in early 2016, establishing a White House Transition Coordinating Council.
Once Trump and Hillary Clinton became their party nominees, both teams started formal transition planning, working out of federally funded office space and coordinating with Obama administration transition officials.
FOOTNOTE: Slovenia-born Melania Trump is the second first lady who was not a native of the U.S. The first was London-born Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president.
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