Obama, Trump put aside differences in White House meeting

President-elect Donald Trump said it was an honour to meet that man he had previously called "the most ignorant president in our history" while President Obama, who had called Mr Trump "uniquely unqualified, pledged to "do everything we can to help you succeed."

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Obama, Trump hold 'excellent' White House talks

Washington, Nov 10, 2016, AFP – Barack Obama and Donald Trump on Thursday put past animosity aside during a 90-minute White House meeting designed to quell fears about the health of the world's pre-eminent democracy.

As protests against the Republican property mogul's shock election rumbled across US cities and world capitals contended with a suddenly uncertain world order, Obama and Trump vowed to carry out a smooth transition of power.

After a nasty campaign that culminated in the election of a 70-year-old billionaire who has never held public office and who gained power on a far-right platform, the message was: this is business as usual in a democracy.

The outgoing Democratic president and his successor huddled one-on-one in the Oval Office, for what Obama characterised as an "excellent conversation" and then put on a remarkably civil joint public appearance.

"It is important for all of us, regardless of party and regardless of political preferences, to now come together, work together, to deal with the many challenges that we face," Obama said.

Trump appeared more subdued than usual, and was unusually cautious and deferential in his remarks.

"Mr President, it was a great honour being with you," Trump said, calling Obama a "very good man."

The meeting between the in-coming and out-going presidents seem remarkably friendly after all the disparaging comments they had made about each other during the campaign. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON

The meeting, which came less than 36 hours after Trump's shock election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, had the potential to be awkward.

After all, Trump championed the so-called "birther movement" challenging whether Obama was actually born in the United States, only dropping the position recently.

And if the president-elect fulfills his campaign promises, he will unravel almost all of Obama's signature achievements.

Trump – who previously called Obama the "most ignorant president in our history" – said he looked forward to receiving the president's counsel.

Obama – who had previously said Trump was a whiner and "uniquely unqualified" to be commander-in-chief – vowed his support.

He told Trump that his administration would "do everything we can to help you succeed, because if you succeed, then the country succeeds."

The two men ended the improbable and historic White House encounter with a handshake and refused to take questions, appearing to find common cause in their opinion of the press.

"Here's a good rule. Don't answer questions when they just start yelling," Obama told Trump.

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