NEW YORK — President Joe Biden has congratulated his predecessor Donald Trump on his election and offered to work for a “smooth transition”.
"President Biden expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition and emphasised the importance of working to bring the country together”, the White House said in a terse statement on Wednesday.
Trump’s Spokesperson Steven Cheung acknowledged the call and said, “President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call”.
That was a normal courtesy that Trump, stewing from his defeat, had not extended Biden when he was elected in 2020 and stayed away from his inauguration.
Trump had viciously attacked Biden during his campaign, nicknaming him “Sleepy Joe” and calling him a “weak and pathetic man”.
Biden didn’t spare him either, and called him a “convicted felon” a “loser” and a “sucker”. But Trump also made a show of sympathy for Biden after Democratic Party leaders made him drop out of the presidential race.
He told his campaign audiences that the president was the victim of a “coup”.
Nikki Haley, who had served on his cabinet and waged a long battle against him for the party’s nomination, said Trump’s comeback victory “defied gravity”.
“Throughout the campaign, he let the American people know exactly where he stood and they gave him a second term”, she said in an X post.
“Now, it's time for the American people to come together, pray for our country, and start the process of a peaceful transition”, she said.
Several business leaders added their messages to the stream of X posts congratulating Trump and looking towards new opportunities.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in his message to Trump, “We’re looking forward to engaging with you and your administration to drive innovation forward that creates new growth and opportunity for the United States and the world”.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “We are in a golden age of American innovation and are committed to working with his administration to help bring the benefits to everyone”.
Apple CEO Tim Cook posted, “We look forward to engaging with you and your administration to help make sure the United States continues to lead with and be fueled by ingenuity, innovation, and creativity”.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, said “No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love”.
As the owner of The Washington Post, Bezos made the controversial decision for the newspaper to not endorse a candidate in the presidential election after its staff had worked on an editorial supporting Harris.
Mark Cuban, the billionaire serial entrepreneur who had backed Vice President Kamala Harris and attacked Trump as a man who could not stand “strong women”, was among the first to congratulate Trump.
“Congrats @realDonaldTrump. You won fair and square”, he posted on X.
He added a greeting to Elon Musk, boss of X, Tesla, Space X, and other companies, who campaigned for Trump: “Congrats to @elonmusk as well”.