WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump made a triumphant return to Washington on Wednesday, visiting the White House for a nearly two-hour meeting with President Joe Biden and pledging a smooth transition of power despite actively working to disrupt the same process in four years ago. .

Seated in the Oval Office in front of a roaring fire, the former rivals shook hands before Biden called Trump “Mr. President-elect and former president” and then settled on simply “The Donald.”

”Congratulations,” the Democrat told the Republican. ”I’m looking forward to having, as they said, a smooth transition. Welcome. Welcome back.”

Trump replied, “Thank you very much,” saying that “politics is tough. And in many cases, it’s not a very pretty world. But it’s a beautiful world today and I appreciate it very much.”

Except for the opening moments, the meeting was private, with Biden and Trump flanked by their chiefs of staff. Trump said the transition between the outgoing and incoming administrations “will be as smooth as possible, and I really appreciate that, Joe.”

Trump, the winner this time, says he’s ready to make sure there’s a smooth transition between administrations. But when he lost four years ago, it was a very different story: Trump filed dozens of lawsuits falsely alleging widespread voter fraud, refused to actively participate in transition work, denied election results and helped incite a mob that stormed the US Capitol, trying to stop the certification of Biden’s victory.

He also did not invite Biden to the White House and refused to attend the inauguration — the first time Andrew Johnson skipped Ulysses S. Grant’s swearing-in 155 years ago.

The new, smiley scene at the White House — despite what happened four years ago — highlighted the remarkable political turnaround of Trump, who left Washington in 2021 as a diminished, politically defeated leader. Today he is poised to return to power with Republicans taking over the Senate, on the verge of a majority in the House and what he and his GOP allies see as a mandate to govern.