« Welcome back »Joe Biden told Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Behind the two men, the fire burned with worrying intensity in the fireplace on Wednesday, November 13. The Democratic president followed custom by courteously receiving his predecessor and designated successor. He promised her a “smooth transition”, in the name of respect for the popular will. Donald Trump also appeared in a conciliatory mood, after shaking his host's hand. “Politics is tough, and in many cases, it's not a very pretty world. It's a nice world out there today and I really appreciate that. »
Their simple physical proximity made this moment extraordinary. Joe Biden was careful to honor the standards of a peaceful transition of power, after accusing Donald Trump of representing an existential danger to American democracy. The billionaire, for his part, pretended to forget that he had refused the same courtesy to Joe Biden, whose victory in 2020 he still does not recognize.
“What we want to do is move forward”summarized White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre. According to her, the meeting between the two men behind closed doors lasted almost two hours. He was “very cordial” et “substantial”. The president-elect, for his part, described the Democrat as ” caring “ with regard to him, in confidences made to New York Post. “We got to know each other again”said Donald Trump. The latter confirmed that he had asked his interlocutor for his views on the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Surrealist
This meeting seemed all the more surreal when he discovered, a few hours later, the new appointments decided by Donald Trump. The president-elect has given the post of director of national intelligence to Tulsi Gabbard. A former Democratic representative from Hawaii, she is a long-time critic of regime changes promoted by the United States abroad, to the point of being much harsher with American hawks than with the worst dictators. of this world.
In 2017, she said to herself “skeptical” about the use of chemical weapons by the regime of Bashar Al-Assad in Syria, relaying the lies of Damascus, opposing any Western military operation in this country. She met the Syrian leader in the Syrian capital that year. Subsequently, the elected official refused to qualify Assad as” enemy “ or“adversary” of America.
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