Obama, Trump break the ice with ‘excellent’ White House meeting

WASHINGTON — For months, President Barack Obama said that President-elect Donald Trump was unqualified, temperamentally unfit and a threat to the country and should never be president. For years, Mr Trump questioned Mr Obama’s place of birth and legitimacy, branded the nation’s first black president weak and called his tenure a disaster.

Early yesterday at the White House, the once-unimaginable happened: The two men met face to face for the first time for a 90-minute discussion in the Oval Office and shook hands, making a public show of putting aside their bitter differences.

“I want to emphasise 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,” Mr Obama told Mr Trump after the meeting as the two sat side by side two days after Mr Trump’s stunning election upset imperiled Mr Obama’s legacy. But the lack of genuine warmth in their body language was evident.

The President called the conversation “excellent” and said he had been “encouraged” by Mr Trump’s interest in working with him and his team.

Mr Trump, who appeared nervous and uncharacteristically subdued beside Mr Obama, called the President “a good man”. “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.”

“The meeting might have been at least a little less awkward than some might have expected,” said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.

Elsewhere in the country, demonstrators took to the streets for a second day to protest against Mr Trump’s victory, voicing fears that the real estate mogul’s triumph would deal a blow to civil rights.

On the East Coast, protests took place in Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, while on the West Coast demonstrators rallied in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and Portland. The protests were for the most part peaceful and orderly.

However, some threw objects at police in Portland and damaged cars in a dealership lot, the Portland Police Department said on Twitter. At least 26 people were arrested in Portland, while at least 35 were arrested in Los Angeles for failing to disperse during their protest.

“Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter yesterday evening. It was an apparent U-turn to his earlier tweet saying that “just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!”.

The Oval Office meeting was the centrepiece of a marathon day in the capital for Mr Trump, his first since winning the presidency. His wife, Melania, had tea with Mrs Michelle Obama in the White House residence and took in the view of the Washington Monument from the Truman Balcony. White House aides said the two women talked about raising children in the White House.

Later on Capitol Hill, after meeting Republican congressional leaders who will hold sway over enacting his agenda, Mr Trump strode with Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the House Speaker, to a balcony overlooking the platform on the west side of the Capitol where he will be sworn in on Jan 20, peering out to the National Mall below. “Really, really beautiful,” Mr Trump said of the view.

Mr Trump and Mr Ryan later had lunch, a peace summit meeting after the latter had offered tepid support for the Republican nominee during the campaign and Mr Trump had branded him a “weak and ineffective leader”, threatening retribution. Later, Mr Trump said he was excited to begin carrying out an agenda to address immigration, health care and tax cuts.

Top advisers to Mr Obama have spent months preparing for the transition, a complex venture condensed into the 72 days before the inauguration.

It is up to them and the Trump team to set it in motion, pairing the Obama administration staff members with representatives of the President-elect for crash courses in the workings of the White House and federal agencies.

But the crush of information may be onerous, particularly when it comes to Mr Trump’s task of naming 4,000 political appointees over a matter of weeks. Next month, Mr Obama’s team plans to hold the first of two war-gaming exercises to prepare Mr Trump and his staff for a potential national security crisis. The second simulation for Mr Trump is set for January, days before he officially gains access to the nuclear codes. AGENCIES