Donald Trump will meet President Obama at the White House on Thursday

President Obama will host Donald Trump on Thursday

(Image credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

On Thursday, President Obama will host Donald Trump at the White House, beginning the transfer of power that will culminate when Trump is sworn in as president on Jan. 20. Trump told an Orlando radio station on Wednesday that he and Obama are "going to have a meeting" and "it's going to be, I think, very good." It could also be awkward, since Obama called Trump temperamentally unfit to be president while campaigning for Trump's rival Hillary Clinton, and Trump led the "birther" movement suggesting Obama was not a legitimate president and has pledged to undo Obama's main legislative achievements. On Wednesday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said "there is a tradition, particularly with regard to executive agreements, of successive presidents preserving some element of continuity," but added: "I don't know whether or not that will fly in this case."

First Lady Michelle Obama will also privately show Melania Trump around the White House. On Wednesday, as Donald Trump and his advisers huddled to work on the transition, aides said Trump will not bring the press corps to Washington for the Obama meeting, breaking longstanding protocol. Trump also did not travel with the press during the campaign, breaking another tradition.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.