Joe Biden bowed out grinning as the only Democrat to ever beat Trump

Plus: Decoding the room – the subtle furnishings, and how they have changed since the last time Trump was there

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The hand that grinning Joe Biden extended towards Donald Trump inside the Oval Office was not necessarily one of friendship.
The two men have spent the last six years exchanging bitter blows on the campaign trail.
Mr Trump dubbed Mr Biden “Sleepy Joe” and a “genuine danger” to American democracy. He in turn said – via his press secretary – that the former president fits “into the general definition of fascist”.
But for Mr Biden, Wednesday’s transition meeting was an opportunity to bow out gracefully, showing the cameras and the country that he could put the peaceful transition of power above political animosity.
The handover was of course draped in a thin layer of smugness, with the sitting president being the only Democrat to ever beat Mr Trump.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated, and we’re going to get a chance to talk about some of that today,” Mr Biden said.
He had even worn a purple tie – the colour of bipartisanship – and ignited the room’s fire to fend off this week’s cold snap in DC.
The scene, set with red roses and bathed in the glow of the dancing flames, looked like something more akin to two old guys sharing stories than political enemies discussing transfer of the highest office in the most powerful country in the world.
Behind them were paintings of four founding fathers around a central portrait of FDR, the president Mr Biden is most often compared with.
Busts of Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr snuck into the camera shot on either side.
A fair bit had changed since the last time Mr Trump was in the Oval Office to meet his predecessor.
Mr Trump was as magnanimous in victory as his rival was gracious in defeat. “Politics is tough, and it’s in many cases not a very nice world,” he said, in an apparent nod to the coup that forced Mr Biden out of the presidential race earlier this year, and something he repeatedly used to beat a beleaguered Mr Biden over the head while on the campaign trail.
“It is a nice world today, and I appreciate it very much,” he added.
There was also a hint of triumphalism about the president-elect’s body language, as he stepped back into the office he fought hard not to leave after the 2020 election.
“Trump was still displaying the power gestures that we are used to seeing with him,” said Darren Stanton, a former police officer and behavioural expert.
“He was adopting the reverse steeple hand gesture, which is what is called an authoritarian gesture.
“Someone using that is saying they are very confident in their field – they are a very important person.”
Mr Biden, meanwhile, sat with his hands on his knees, a stance Mr Stanton said was designed to show he was still in control – at least for now.
“Whether he’s done that consciously or unconsciously, he’s still trying to assert his authority as an existing president,” he said.
Both men managed to make the meeting look natural – despite the awkwardness of their situation.
There is no escaping that, despite the pleasantries, Mr Trump believes Mr Biden has been squatting in his home for the last four years.
For Mr Biden, Mr Trump is an arsonist returning to the scene of the crime.
His jovial demeanour, however, may suggest that he is well aware that it is no longer his problem.
Back in 2016, when Barack Obama held his own transition meeting with Mr Trump, the pair spoke on camera for three minutes.
Mr Obama’s set up was much colder and more stark – no dancing flames or warm smiles here.
The 2016 setup saw an empty and cold fire place. The then-president wore a black suit, as if for a funeral. Between the two men sat a bowl of apples rather than the bouquet – that sat off to the side, next to Trump.
This time, the press spray lasted barely 40 seconds with reporters ushered out of the warm room almost immediately after Mr Trump and Mr Biden had finished speaking.
As reporters shouted questions over each other and White House staff tried to bundle them out of the room, Mr Trump inclined his head to defer management of the press to Mr Biden.
The president ignored him and smiled again for the cameras.
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