Biden, Trump to meet in the White House's Oval Office

US President Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump will meet at the White House on Biden's invitation, a White House spokesperson says.

Biden and Trump will gather for a traditional post-election meeting in the Oval Office at 11am on Wednesday, officials said.

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

Biden had initially sought re-election but dropped out of the race in July after a disastrous debate against Trump.

"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 re-election 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, when asked whether Trump was a threat to democracy.

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

Such a meeting is customary between the outgoing president and the incoming president, and is meant partly to mark the start of a peaceful transfer of power.

But Trump, a Republican, did not host Biden, a Democrat, for a sit-down after the 2020 election when Trump lost his re-election bid.

The White House said Biden called Trump this week to congratulate him and invite him to meet in the Oval Office.

In a speech on Thursday, Biden said he had assured Trump "that I would direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition. That's what the American people deserve".

Separately, Trump said former Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not be asked to join his administration.

"I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation," Trump posted on social media.

"I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our country."

Trump is meeting with potential candidates to serve in his administration before his January 20 inauguration as president. Reuters reported that Trump met with prominent investor Scott Bessent, who is a potential US Treasury Secretary nominee.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, endorsed Trump for president despite having criticised him harshly when she ran against him in the party primaries.

Pompeo, who also served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Trump, has been mentioned in some media reports as a possible defence secretary and had been also seen a potential Republican presidential candidate, before he announced in April 2023 he would not run.

with AP