--- title: Barack and Michelle Obama Greet Donald Trump at White House description: President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on Friday stood at the steps of the White House to greet President-elect Donald Trump and his wife canonical: https://time.com/4640816/obama-greets-trump-white-house/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-20T15:36:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T10:38:14.769Z article:section: Politics og:title: See Barack and Michelle Obama Greet Donald and Melania Trump at the White House og:description: Melania Trump handed the Obamas a gift og:url: https://time.com/4640816/obama-greets-trump-white-house/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4246a738d7f4e2b1/6988b659bc6cfc24363dfda5/obama-trump-greet-white-house.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-OBAMA-TRUMP-INAUGURATION og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Barack and Michelle Obama Greet Donald and Melania Trump at the White House twitter:description: Melania Trump handed the Obamas a gift twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4246a738d7f4e2b1/6988b659bc6cfc24363dfda5/obama-trump-greet-white-house.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Barack and Michelle Obama Greet Donald and Melania Trump at the White House  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 20, 2017 3:36 PM UTC  Melania Trump, bearing a gift from Tiffany & Co., greets President Obama before President Trump's swearing-in ceremony. Melania Trump, bearing a gift from Tiffany & Co., greets President Obama before President Trump's swearing-in ceremony.Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jan 20, 2017 3:36 PM UTC [President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama](http://time.com/4640751/president-michelle-obama-presidential-center-video/?xid=homepage) on Friday [stood at the steps of the White House](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/obamas-greet-trumps-at-white-house/2017/01/20/c798816e-df1f-11e6-8902-610fe486791c%5Fvideo.html) to greet President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania as they prepared to vacate the home they lived in for eight years. The Obamas shook hands, embraced and had small talk with their successors about 10 a.m. “Mr. President-elect, how are you?” Barack Obama asked Trump. “Good to see you. Congratulations.” “How was church?” Obama later asked Trump. Melania handed Michelle Obama a gift and the four posed for a photo before Barack Obama led the group into the White House. Donald Trump will be [sworn in](http://time.com/4640703/donald-trump-inauguration-day-2017/?xid=homepage) as President of the United States later Friday during an official inauguration ceremony. 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