US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday met with President Barack Obama for transition talks at the White House.
Trump describes the first ever meeting between the two men as a “great honour”.
Obama said he was “encouraged” by their “excellent” and “wide-ranging” conversation, lasting over an hour.
During the election campaign, Trump vowed to dismantle Obama’s legacy and he has previously questioned his US citizenship.
Obama, meanwhile, had called Trump “uniquely unqualified”.
But following Trump’s shock defeat of Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s election, Obama appealed for national unity and said he was “rooting” for him.
After Thursday’s behind-closed-doors meeting in the White House, Obama said: “My number one priority in the coming two months is to try to facilitate a transition that ensures our president-elect is successful.”
He said they had discussed domestic and foreign policy and he had been “very encouraged” by Trump’s interest in working with President Obama’s team on issues facing the US.
“I believe that it is important for all of us regardless of party and regardless of political preference to now come together to deal with the many challenges we face,” Obama said.
Trump said he would “very much look forward” to dealing with President Obama in future.
“I have great respect, the meeting lasted for almost an hour and a half, and it could’ve, as far as I’m concerned, it could’ve gone on for a lot longer,” the president-elect said.
“We discussed a lot of different situations – some wonderful and some difficulties.”
White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, said the two men did not resolve their differences but “the meeting might have been at least a little less awkward than some might have expected”.
“President Obama came away from the meeting with renewed confidence in the commitment of the president-elect to engage in an effective, smooth transition,” he said.
Trump flew from New York on his private jet and landed at Reagan National Airport, just outside the nation’s capital.
He was accompanied by his wife, Melania, who had a meeting with First Lady Michelle Obama.
