US President Barack Obama and his successor, Donald Trump, have met at the White House, a day after the billionaire businessman was declared the winner of the country’s election.
Obama called Thursday’s 90-minute meeting in the Oval Office “excellent”, while Trump said he looked forward to receiving the outgoing president’s “counsel”.
“We now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed because if you succeed, the country succeeds,” Obama told Trump.
The two men, who have been harshly critical of each other for years, were meeting for the first time, Trump said.
“I have great respect [for him],” he said. “The meeting could have, as far as I’m concerned, gone a lot longer.
“We discussed a lot of different situations, some wonderful, and some difficulties,” he said.
Trump said he looked forward “to dealing with the president in the future, including counsel” and meeting with Obama “many, many more times”.
Throughout the election campaign, Obama had blasted Trump as unfit to serve as commander-in-chief.
Trump, on the other hand, spent years challenging the legitimacy of Obama’s presidency, falsely suggesting that he may have been born outside the US.
But at least publicly, the two men appeared to put aside their animosity. As the meeting concluded and journalists scrambled out of the Oval Office, Obama smiled at his successor and explained the unfolding scene.
“Here’s a good rule: Don’t answer the questions when the reporters just start yelling,” Obama jokingly said.
“President Obama came away from the meeting with renewed confidence in the commitment of the president-elect to engage in an effective, smooth transition,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters later on Thursday.
Trump and Obama did not resolve their differences, Earnest said, but, based on their agreement on the need for an effective transition, “the meeting might have been at least a little less awkward than some might have expected”.
If Trump makes good on his campaign promises, he will wipe away much of what Obama has done during his eight years in office.
The president-elect, who will govern with Congress fully under Republican control, has vowed to repeal Obama’s signature healthcare law and dismantle the nuclear accord with Iran.
First Lady Michelle Obama also met privately in the White House residence with Trump’s wife, Melania, while Vice President Joe Biden prepared to see Vice President-elect Mike Pence later on Thursday.