Biden, Trump to Meet at the White House on Wednesday

People gather outside the White House, after Republican Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 6, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

WASHINGTON/REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump will meet on Wednesday at the White House on Biden's invitation, a White House spokesperson said on Saturday.

Trump will take office on Jan. 20 after defeating current Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

"At President Biden’s invitation, President Biden and President-elect Trump will meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Biden, a Democrat, had initially sought reelection but dropped out of the race in July after a disastrous debate against the Republican Trump. 

"I'm going to see him on Wednesday," Biden told reporters on Saturday, when asked whetherTrump was a threat to democracy.

Biden spoke after leaving a church service in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he traveled for the weekend. The president did not respond to questions about what he would say to Trump.

(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington and Gabriel Araujo in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware; Editing by Diane Craft and Daniel Wallis)