The Republican and newly elected president Donald Trump entered his new home for the first time, the White House in Washington, which he will occupy for (at least) 4 years and where he was welcomed by the tenant of the last 8 years, Barack Obama. The handover, so far only symbolic (Trump will take office on January 20, 2017), was carried out privately and in a cordial atmosphere. "It was an excellent conversation," Obama said at the end of the meeting that should have lasted 30 minutes but lasted for over an hour and a half, "we want and will do everything to make him and his wife feel welcome and so that they succeed in their task at their best". "Important issues were discussed," added the outgoing president.
"It's time to stick together," Trump said in his first speech after the election results. “I am impatient to do more with Obama”, added the newly elected at the end of the very short press conference. “We had never met, I respect him very much. We addressed difficult issues, but we also talked about the important results achieved during his administration. It was a great honour."
Shortly thereafter, White House spokesman Josh Earnest specified that "their profound differences have not been overcome" but also that the objective of the talk "was not to resolve the differences but to ensure an agile transition". According to the WSJ, however, there would also have been a diplomatic incident, with the Obama spouses who would not have wanted to take the traditional photo together with the next presidential couple, as required by practice.
