Biden to meet Trump at White House ahead of historic return

President Joe Biden will host President-elect Donald Trump for a traditional postelection meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House said.

"At President Biden's invitation, President Biden and President-elect Trump will meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Saturday.

Such a meeting is customary between the outgoing president and the incoming president, and is meant partly to mark the start of a peaceful transfer of power under America's democracy.

The White House said Biden called Trump this past Wednesday to congratulate him and invite him to meet in the Oval Office. Their meeting is scheduled for 11 am.

In a speech Thursday, Biden said he had assured Trump "that I would direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition. That's what the American people deserve."

Asked about Trump as he left church Saturday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he was spending the weekend, Biden said, "I'm going to see him on Wednesday."

Biden to blame

Biden, a Democrat, had initially sought reelection but dropped out of the race in July after a disastrous debate against the Republican Trump that raised concerns about his health.

Democrats have been pointing fingers over who is to blame for the decisive loss of Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden at the top of the ticket roughly 100 days before the election.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took aim at Biden, telling The New York Times that "had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race."

"Because the president endorsed Kamala Harris immediately, that really made it almost impossible to have a primary at that time. If it had been much earlier, it would have been different," added Pelosi, who is reported to have played a key role in persuading Biden to step aside.

The president-elect announced on Saturday that close Trump associate Steve Witkoff and ex-senator Kelly Loeffler will lead his inaugural committee.