One of the biggest things to happen this week in Washington had nothing to do with policy or political beliefs.
Instead, it had to do with the norms, customs and traditions surrounding the peaceful transfer of power in the United States of America.
What was it? It was a simple meeting in the Oval Office between the current president and his elected successor.
“Congratulations,” President Joe Biden said to President-elect Donald Trump as the two men faced reporters in the Oval Office. “Looking forward to having — like we said — a smooth transition,” Biden pledged, very publicly and personally, acknowledging Trump’s 2024 victory.
“I appreciate it very much,” Trump replied as he expressed the hope for a transition that’s “as smooth as it can get.”
The meeting was dripping with irony — not because of their political differences, but because Trump never offered the same helping hand after the 2020 election.
Biden could have publicly reminded Trump that he ignored this ceremonial meeting and refused to help with the transition to the new administration. But he took the high road instead.
“What the president is committed to doing is making sure that this transition is effective,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “He is doing that because it is the norm, yes — but also the right thing to do for the American people.”
This was the second time Trump had come to the Oval Office as the election winner. Back in 2016, then-President Barack Obama hosted Trump for an Oval Office meeting. Like Biden, Obama also extended the hand of cooperation on the transition.
“We now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed — because if you succeed, then the country succeeds,” Obama said to Trump.
But back in 2020, none of this happened.
Trump lost the election and spent his final weeks in office trying desperately to stay in power as he kneecapped the transition and then became the first president to skip the next inauguration since Andrew Johnson in 1869.
Just think of the different course that history would have taken if Trump had simply followed the nation’s postelection customs in 2020.
No attack on the Capitol. No fake electors scheme. No criminal charges against Trump or the hundreds of his supporters who laid siege to Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
It would have been very easy for Biden to retaliate. But that’s not the American way.
Democrats did the right thing. They admitted their defeat, congratulated Trump and acted accordingly.
The nation is better off for their choice.
Jamie Dupree has covered national politics and Congress from Washington since the Reagan administration. His column appears weekly in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more, check out his Capitol Hill newsletter at jamiedupree.substack.com.
About the Author
