Donald and Melania Trump Meet With Barack and Michelle Obama at the White House -- See the Pics
Donald Trump made his first visit to the White House as the president-elect on Thursday.
President Barack Obama met with his Republican successor in the Oval Office, while Melania Trump visited with first lady Michelle Obama. Trump called the commander-in-chief a "very good man."
"Mr President, it was a great honor being with you and I look forward to being with you many, many more times," Trump said (via CBS News), adding that he would seek "counsel" from Obama.
The president extended the invite during a phone call after Election Night, where he congratulated Trump on his victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
During their meeting, Obama was to update the president-elect about the transition planning that his administration "has been working on for nearly a year."
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"I have instructed my team to follow the example that President [George
W.] Bush's team set eight years ago and work as hard as we can to make
sure that this is a successful transition for the president-elect,”
Obama told reporters in the Rose Garden on Wednesday. "We are now all
rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country. The peaceful
transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy. And over
the next few months, we are going to show that to the world."
Vice President-elect Mike Pence will also meet with Vice President Joe Biden in the afternoon.
The visits come after post-election protests erupted in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and several other cities across the country on Wednesday night, including New York City, where the Trump family currently live.
Prior to Trump winning the presidential election, Obama addressed the nation. "Hey everybody. It's finally election night, and I imagine that's welcome news to most of you, because let's face it, this has been an exhausting, stressful, and sometimes downright weird election for all of us," he said during a speech that was streamed on BuzzFeed. "But here's what I want everybody to know. While we've certainly seen some new things this time around, what isn't new is that our democracy has always been rowdy and raucous. We've been through tough and divisive elections before, and we've always come out stronger for it. That's what makes America special -- the idea that while progress isn't guaranteed, each of us has the power to choose our path, not just on nights like this, but every day in between."
Here's more of Obama's inspiring message to America:
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