Donald Trump receives congratulatory calls from world leaders and invitation to White House
Vucci/ap) Donald Trump (evan
Donald Trump has spent his first day as president-elect receiving congratulatory phone calls from his defeated opponent, world leaders and President Joe Biden as he began the process of turning his election victory into a government.
Mr Trump was keeping a low profile, staying out of the public eye after addressing supporters in Florida during the early hours of Wednesday.
Vice president Kamala Harris called him to concede the race and to congratulate him, while Mr Biden invited the man he ousted from the White House four years ago to an Oval Office meeting to prepare to return the keys.
The White House announced that Mr Biden had spoken to the president-elect and expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition, while emphasising the importance of working to bring the country together.
Mr Biden also called Ms Harris to salute her campaign, and Mr Trump and Ms Harris spoke on a call where the president-elect acknowledged “her strength, professionalism and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country”, according to Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he called Mr Trump and the pair had a “warm and cordial” conversation while also also discussing the “Iranian threat”.
French President Emmanuel Macron also called Mr Trump, as did Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who spoke to the president-elect to express “the kingdom’s aspiration to strengthen the historical and strategic relations between the two countries, wishing the friendly American people progress and prosperity under his excellency’s leadership”, according to Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry.
Mr Trump made his first foreign trip as president during his first term to Saudi Arabia. He stood by the kingdom then, even as ties became strained over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives in Istanbul.
The president-elect has since vowed to bring peace to the Middle East at a time when Israel is at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and has recently traded fire with Iran.
Mr Trump, who was a staunch supporter of Israel during his previous term, has not said how he would accomplish that.