Obama, President-elect to set differences aside for awkward White House meeting

intern

November 10, 2016 1:14 PM

The meeting is their first public step toward a peaceful transition of power after the Republican election victory.

Billionaire Donald Trump (pictured left) has said that America won't have another black president for generations because of the poor job done by Barack Obama (pictured right)

U.S. President Barack Obama will host an awkward meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.

The two men have had almost no one-on-one contact previously.

Trump led the “birther” movement that questioned Obama’s U.S. citizenship and has pledged to overturn the Democratic president’s signature policy achievements after he takes office on Jan. 20

Obama campaigned vigorously for Trump’s Democratic rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and called Trump both temperamentally unfit for the presidency and dangerously unprepared to have access to U.S. nuclear codes.

They will seek to put that history behind them, at least for the cameras, during a meeting in the Oval Office at 11 a.m.

First lady Michelle Obama will also meet privately with Trump’s wife, Melania, in the White House residence.

Obama had said on Wednesday that despite his major differences with the New York real estate magnate, he would follow the lead of former Republican President George Bush in 2008 and ensure a smooth handover to Trump.

“Eight years ago, President Bush and I had some pretty significant differences, but President Bush’s team could not have been more professional or more gracious in making sure we had a smooth transition.

“So I have instructed my team to follow the example that President Bush’s team set,” Obama said.

Trump spent Wednesday focusing on that transition during meetings with his staff at Trump Tower in New York.

After taking office, he will enjoy Republican majorities in both chambers of the U.S. Congress that could help him implement his legislative agenda and scrap or roll back Obama policies that he dislikes.

This includes the Affordable Care Act, the nuclear deal with Iran and U.S. participation in the Paris agreement to fight global warming.

intern