KOA Headlines
11 13 24 ABC News Reporter Karen Travers talks about the Trump and Biden WH meeting
But there's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one. Member FDIC. If you put aside $0.25 every week for a year, what could you get at the end? A few cups of coffee, maybe? A candle? Or you could get a year of the best reporting from all over the world. Go to washingtonpost.com/bf24 right now. You'll get a Washington Post subscription for $0.25 a week for your first year. This is a Black Friday sale, so it won't last long. It's beginning to sound a lot like the holidays. The Roku Channel, your home for free and premium TV, is giving you access to holiday music and genre-based stations from iHeart all for free. Find the soundtrack of the season with channels like iHeartChristmas and North Pole Radio. The Roku Channel is available on all Roku devices, web, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Samsung TV, and the Roku mobile app on iOS and Android devices. So, stream what you love and turn up the cheer with iHeartRadio on the Roku Channel. Happy streaming! President Biden said it will be a smooth transition from his administration to a second Trump administration. Those words in front of the camera, but what was shared and talked about in private when the cameras weren't on. ABC News, White House correspondent Karen Travers joins us now in the KOA common spirit health hotline. Karen, at least in front of the cameras, the men were cordial. Did it seem sincere to you from your perch? Yeah, I actually think it did, and it was really striking to see in this very brief photo up the pleasantries, the handshakes, the smiles. I actually, because we look at every little thing about body language and words, when reporters all started shouting questions, the two seem to share a little bit of a joke about everybody shouting questions, as we were in the Oval Office yesterday, reporters there. You know, I think the message from President Biden was this is going to be a smooth transition. He said we're going to do everything we can to make sure you're accommodated and have what you need. And the president-elect said that politics is tough, and in many cases he said it's not a very nice world, but it's a nice world today, and he appreciates it very much. He said that again, that he appreciates this transition will be as smooth as it can get. He just got the sense that, like, they get it. They have been in the political arena. They have said some pretty, you know, tough things about each other. That doesn't mean that they have walked back those tough things, but that this is now about losing forward. And Karine Jean-Pierre later said that this moment is not about the president or about the president-elect. It's about doing what's right for the American people, and that is an orderly transition to make sure that the incoming team is set up and ready to start working on January 20th. Karine, how long were reporters in the room for before President-elect Trump and President Biden went and talked to other topics, and do we know what was discussed? It was about two minutes of a photo op really fast. Like I said, they both talked very briefly. People tried to ask some questions. They didn't engage. We were disappointed in that. We would have loved for them to take some questions, but then they sat down for nearly two hours together in the Oval Office, and the White House was really pointing to that to show that it was a good meeting, that they didn't shake hands in front of the cameras and then say, "Okay, now we're staring at each other. We have nothing to say. Let's just walk away." They actually got down to some business. Karine Jean-Pierre described it as very cordial, very gracious, substantive, and exchange of views. She said the former president, now President-elect, came in with a list of things that he wanted to talk to Biden about, and that he wanted to get his take on. They also brought in others. The Chief of Staff from the White House, Jeff Dimes, was there. President-elect Trump's Chief of Staff incoming, Susie Wiles, she was there. We saw photos of all of them, the four of them sitting together in the Oval Office. It was a conversation about national security and domestic policy issues, but Ukraine we know was on the agenda, the president underlining his view that the U.S. standing with and supporting Ukraine fees in America's national security interests, and the White House says that something he's very much is trying to impress upon the incoming team. Karen, anything else that they discussed? I know they talked about the topic she did, but was there anything else that you gleaned from your reporting that that was discussed, where there was any even domestic philosophies and policies that were in place or may get overturned? No, we didn't, excuse me, didn't gear specifically on the domestic side of things. There was certainly, there were all more candid talking about the foreign policy aspect. They talked about the Middle East, no surprise there. And later, the president met with some of the families of the Americans, still held hostage by Hamas. That was a later tough meeting for the White House to have. And that is, of course, a big priority still for this administration. We're told that also came up during the Oval Office meeting and something that they would like to see. Could they work with the incoming Trump team to try and keep pushing this through over the next 68-ish days, I guess we are until inauguration day? Karen, you have much more of an inside look of what's going on at the White House. Have you heard or overheard any talks about the latest appointments that President-elect Trump has been making for his cabinet? You know, the White House will not really be saying like, look, they need the space to be able to announce their picks, and we will let them do that. But I will say that yesterday in Washington, there was a lot of shock at the announcement by the president-elect that he is nominating Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman, to be his pick for Attorney General. We were told that when Republicans on Capitol Hill were meeting behind closed doors, and the news came out, people getting it obviously on their phones, there were audible gaffes in the room at Gaetz to be AG. This was just very surprising. He wasn't on the shortlist. He wasn't somebody that had been vetted for the position based on sources that we've been talking to. So it was very surprising. But you know, we'll see if this nomination goes through. There were a lot of questions in the Senate yesterday among influential senators that he doesn't have the votes that he needs to get through. But one thing about Donald Trump, when he picks somebody, he's loyal to them too, and wants to get that nomination across. ABC News White House correspondent, it's Karen Travers. Thank you. Have a great day. There's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one member FDIC. I have a way to make your morning more efficient. You can get caught up on the news in about seven minutes. That is my promise to you as the host of the Seven Podcast from The Washington Post. And in that time, I will run down seven stories, everything from the most important headlines to fascinating new information you might miss otherwise. My name's Hannah Jewell. Go follow the seven right now, wherever you're listening. And we will get you caught up. It's beginning to sound a lot like The Holidays. The Roku Channel, your home for free and premium TV, is giving you access to holiday music and genre-based stations from iHeart all for free. Find the soundtrack of the season with channels like iHeartChristmas and North Pole Radio. The Roku Channel is available on all Roku devices, web, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Samsung TV, and the Roku mobile app on iOS and Android devices. So stream what you love and turn up the cheer with iHeartRadio on the Roku Channel. Happy streaming!