--- title: Donald Trump and Barack Obama Focus on Transition at Meeting description: The two men did not "recreate a presidential debate" in the Oval Office, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said after canonical: https://time.com/4566616/white-house-offers-details-on-trump-obama-meeting/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-10T19:14:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:53:56.686Z article:section: Politics og:title: White House Offers Details on Trump-Obama Meeting og:description: "The meeting was focused on the transition and it went well." og:url: https://time.com/4566616/white-house-offers-details-on-trump-obama-meeting/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcae0ba1c605243ad/6988ae0c656a3f3f6dbcdd26/trump-meets-obama2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: President Obama Meets With President-Elect Donald Trump In The Oval Office Of White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White House Offers Details on Trump-Obama Meeting twitter:description: "The meeting was focused on the transition and it went well." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcae0ba1c605243ad/6988ae0c656a3f3f6dbcdd26/trump-meets-obama2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House Offers Details on Trump-Obama Meeting > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d9e1b12f-4ec8-4d00-a6ce-aca533db256b&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch President Barack Obama Meet President-Elect Donald Trump for the First Time [Watch (HLS stream): Watch President Barack Obama Meet President-Elect Donald Trump for the First Time](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zRemNoen.m3u8) (3:13)  _Published 2016-11-10. The meeting signals the beginning of the transition period during which Obama will help Trump, now the president-elect, prepare to take control of the country next year._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 10, 2016 7:14 PM UTC The meeting signals the beginning of the transition period during which Obama will help Trump, now the president-elect, prepare to take control of the country next year. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Nov 10, 2016 7:14 PM UTC President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump did not debate politics or policy [during their 90 minute meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday](http://time.com/4566234/barack-obama-donald-trump/). The focus was on the transition, which is why, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters after, both parties characterized the meeting as “excellent” after it ended. “The meeting was focused on the transition and it went well,” he said, adding that the two “didn’t recreate some sort of presidential debate in the Oval Office today.” The Oval Office meeting was the [first time the two men had ever met face-to-face](http://time.com/4566620/barack-obama-donald-trump-white-house-meeting-photo/) and after both agreed the gathering went well in their [brief remarks to reporters](http://time.com/4566631/donald-trump-barack-obama-white-house-meeting-transcript/). Trump suggested the meeting was scheduled to only last about “10 or 15 minutes,” but the White House said after President Obama had always set aside more time for the two to chat. Though Earnest insisted the meeting primarily focused on the transition, including “staffing and organizing at the White House,” foreign policy and national security were also topics of discussion during the Oval Office meeting. The press secretary said the two also discussed issues President Obama expects will arise on an upcoming trip to Europe and Latin America. The White House says Obama remains impressed by the tone Trump has taken in the immediate aftermath of the election, but on Thursday Earnest made clear that the views of a president who just days ago referred to his now-successor as “uniquely unqualified” for office have not changed. “The president’s views haven’t changed. He stands by what he said on the campaign trail,” he said. During the Oval Office meeting, the First Lady had tea with Melania Trump and took her on a tour of the private residence and the state floor. White House curator William Allman joined the two women on the tour. They are said to have discussed raising children in the White House given that the Trump’s youngest son Barron is 10. ## Transcript Well I just had the opportunity to have an excellent conversation with President Elect Trump. It was wide ranging, we talked about some of the organizational issues in setting up a white house, we talked about foreign policy, we talked about domestic policy, and as I said last night My number one priority in the coming two months is to try to facilitate a transition that ensures our President- elect is successful. And I have been very encourage by the. I think interest in president elect Trump's wanting to work with my team around many of the issues that this great country faces. And I believe that. It is important for all of us, regardless of party and regardless of legal preferences, to now come together, work together to deal with the many challenges that we face. And in the meantime Michelle has had a chance to greet the incoming first lady. And we had an excellent conversation with her as well. And we wanna make sure that they feel welcome as they prepare to make this transition. Most of all, I wanna emphasize to you, as president elect, that we, now are gonna, wanna do everything we can to help you succeed because if you succeed then the country succeed. Well thank you very much president Obama. This was a meeting that was going to last for maybe 10 or 15 minutes and, we were just gonna get to know each other. We had never met each other. I have great respect. The meeting lasted for almost an hour and a half. And it could have as far as I'm concerned, it could have gone in for a lot longer. We really We discussed a lot of different situations, some wonderful and some difficulties. I very much look forward to dealing with the president in the future including council. He explained some of the difficulties, some of the The high- flying assets and some of the really great things that have been achieved. So Mr. President, it was a great honor being with you, and I look forward to being with you many, many more times in the future. Thank you [ INAUDIBLE ] Mr. President. [ CROSSTALK ] Thank you everybody, we are not going to be taking any more questions, thank you guys. Thank you. Here's a good rule. Don't answer their questions when their started yelling. It's always the last one. Come on guys. Yeah come on guys. Let's go. Very, very good man. Thank you Donald. Appreciate it. Thank you guys. 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