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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foregroundThe Explainer The network is led by alt-right activist Nick Fuentes
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fallThe Week Recommends Concert tour season isn't over. Check out these headliners.
-
How to put student loan payments on pauseThe Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
