Inside Trump and Biden's 'gracious' and 'cordial' two-hour White House meeting - where the president-elect had a long list of questions

Wednesday was all about Donald Trump and that's just how he likes it.

The President-elect rolled into Washington D.C. in triumph on Wednesday, landing at Joint Base Andrews and taking a motorcade into the capital city where he got a thunderous welcome from his party, followed by a return to the Oval Office.

The scene was a marked contrast to how Trump left the White House four years ago - down and defeated, insisting he was the true winner of the 2020 election, and refusing to meet with his successor Joe Biden.

But after the bitter pill of defeat he was now savoring the sweetness of victory.

A hero's welcome was waiting for him at a Washington hotel as House Republicans cheered when he came to address them

Lawmakers took to social media to thank him for coming, posting flattering words and pictures of the meeting.

Speaker Mike Johnson declared of Trump: 'He is the comeback king.'

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, sat in the audience, watching as Trump took the applause.

Later, President Joe Biden greeted Trump like a visiting head of state, welcoming him in the White House's Diplomatic Room and walking him down the colonnade to the Oval Office. 

Biden showed Trump around his old haunt, pointing out the changes he had made. One object was familiar: the Resolute Desk. Biden, like Trump, opted to use the massive wooden desk that was a gift from Queen Victoria to the United States.

The men met for two hours, with just their top aides - chief of staff Jeff Zients and Trump's incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles - at their sides. 

The setting was cozy with a fire burning in the fireplace. Some of the country's greatest presidents - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington - stared down on them from portraits on the wall.

Trump came prepared with a list of seven questions to ask Biden.

The meeting was gracious, cordial, and substantive, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. 

'It was substantive meeting and exchange of ideas,' she said, adding the leaders discussed foreign and domestic policy, funding the government, and a peaceful transition of power.

The day just got better for Trump. After he left the White House, Republicans cemented their control in Washington when enough races were called to hand them control of the House of Representatives. They had sewed up the Senate on election night.

And the talk about Trump continued as he announced a series of controversial cabinet appointments, including former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as his director of National Intelligence and Rep. Matt Gaetz as his attorney general.

But the biggest prize of all for the incoming president was his return to the Oval Office. 

'We really had a really good meeting,' Trump told the New York Post after it had ended. 

Only the first few minutes of the meeting were open to the press. During it the two men were cordial. They shook hands. They called each other by their first names. 

'I think by the length of the meeting tells you that they had an in-depth conversation on an array of issues,' Jean-Pierre noted. 'But nearly two hours said that he says a lot about how the meeting went.'

'It was gracious, it was substantive. And I think that's what's important. And what we are showing the American people is how you do this, how do you have a peaceful transition of power, how it looks and leading by example, and that is quite essential,' she added. 

Trump committed to a peaceful transition process, which is vastly different than how he handled it four years ago, when he falsely claimed he won the 2020 election. 

It 'will be as smooth as it can get and I very much appreciate that, Joe,' he told Biden.

Neither man answered questions from reporters. At one point, Biden looked at Trump, who moved his head to the side and gave a small shrug, but did not respond.

Trump told The New York Post that he and Biden discussed two issues on which they have differed, including war in Ukraine and Israel's ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.

'I asked for his views and he gave them to me,' Trump said. 'Also, we talked very much about the Middle East, likewise. I wanted to know his views on where we are and what what he thinks. And he gave them to me, he was very gracious.'

Jean-Pierre refused to say if the 2020 election was discussed, saying the White House was looking ‘forward.’ 

It's unclear how long Trump's magnamious attitude will last. He has mocked Biden on numeous occasions and questioned the president's mental abilities. 

Four years ago, Trump left Washington before Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021, becoming the first president to to skip the swearing-in of his successor since Andrew Johnson.

When he won the 2016 election and entered the Oval Office at that time, Trump appeared nervous and was unusually subdued, calling then-President Barack Obama 'a good man' and the meeting 'a great honor.' Previously, Trump had questioned if Obama was even an American and demanded to see his birth certificate.

Soon after that meeting, Trump was back to his insults. 

But, on Wednesday, Trump appeared at ease and, frankly, back at home.

He knows the place well having lived there for four years.  

Melania Trump was absent and did not meet with Jill Biden. Traditionally the outgoing first lady hosts her successor for tea in the residence while the Oval Office meeting takes place. 

Jill Biden joined her husband to greet Trump upon his arrival and gave him a handwritten letter of congratulations for Melania. She also pledged team’s readiness to assist with the transition. 

The two men plan to stay in touch, Jean-Pierre said.

And Trump told the New York Post he and Biden plan to see each other again before the Inauguration, which Biden has pledged to attend.  

'The Oval Office is so beautiful and I do certainly look forward [to coming back],' he said.

Trump and Biden last met two months ago at a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York on September 11.

Before that their last encounter was their televised debate on June 27, which was catastrophic for Biden's campaign and ultimately led to him leaving the race.