Those close to US President Donald Trump (left) believe inviting President-elect Joe Biden (right) to the White House or even talking to him would risk being perceived as conceding the race. Photos: Courtesy
Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse and son of the late evangelist Billy Graham has urged President Donald Trump to hold talks with his successor Joe Biden at the White House.
Graham believes the meeting will “begin the healing” of America and foster “smooth transition” that is at the core of the nation’s democracy.
Franklin Graham who is one of Facebook’s most prominent voices, told Trump: “We are praying for you, Vice President Mike Pence, President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris, and our other leaders in Washington.”
“I hope you will quickly invite President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and their spouses to the White House for a meeting to begin the healing and preparation for a smooth transition,” he continued.
This development comes amid reports that Trump and Biden may never come face to face, even on the incoming leader’s Inauguration Day.
Biden said in a CNN interview last month that Trump’s presence at his inauguration would be symbolically important, however neither side sees much value in the union lately, NBC News reported
According to USA Today Newspaper, Biden dismissed Trump’s decision not to attend the inauguration, telling reporters that it was “one of the few things he and I ever agreed on.” But of Pence, Biden said that he was “welcome to come” and that he’d “be honored to have him there.”
Trump, who claimed the election was rigged in favour of his Democratic opponent, and just recently witnessed Facebook and Twitter shutdown his accounts for allegedly inciting violence, will not be the first USA president to have skipped his successor’s inauguration ceremony.
Former U.S Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Andrew Johnson all did not go, and Richard Nixon did not attend Gerald Ford’s swearing in after his resignation from office.
