President Joe Biden has reportedly extended an invitation to President-elect Donald Trump to meet at the White House next week to discuss the transition process leading up to the January inauguration. The two will meet on Wednesday at 11 a.m., according to the White House. Trump confirmed the meeting later on Saturday, while Biden emphasized that the transition would be “peaceful and orderly.”
“I will do my duty as president,” Biden said Thursday, as reported by Just the News. “I’ll fulfill my oath, and I will honor the Constitution. On January 20, we will have a peaceful transfer of power here in America.”
The invitation comes after Trump secured a significant victory, defeating Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and winning all the battleground states. His win also helped Republicans secure historic victories in statehouses across the country.
In addition, Republicans regained control of the Senate and are on track to maintain a narrow majority in the House.
Trump’s sweeping victory marks a historic moment, as he becomes only the second president since Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s to win two non-consecutive terms. This unexpected outcome has triggered panic and finger-pointing within the Democratic Party.
The aftermath of Trump’s victory likely signals a diminishing influence of veteran Democratic leaders like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. According to DailyMail.com, Pelosi, who had long been a central figure in Democratic politics, now faces the prospect of losing her influence, particularly in light of Harris’s defeat.
This shift comes just months after Pelosi played a key role in efforts to push President Joe Biden out of the race. The 84-year-old Pelosi was visibly emotional during Harris’s concession speech at Howard University and was seen in a tense exchange with fellow Democratic insider and former DNC chair Donna Brazile, as reported by the outlet.
Amid the rising blame game following Harris’s unexpected loss, Pelosi has found herself at the center of the accusations. Business investor and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary weighed in, stating that figures like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Pelosi, and Hollywood figures who once held sway over the party will no longer have the same influence in the coming years.
“The influences of a Schumer, a Pelosi, or a movie star or an Obama deciding to anoint somebody — those guys are gone,” O’Leary remarked, alluding to actor George Clooney’s public call for Biden to step down after a disastrous debate with Trump.
Some Republicans are directly attributing the Democratic losses, from the top of the ticket to the Senate flip and the still-contested House, to Pelosi’s leadership.
