NEW YORK // Donald Trump met president Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday to begin the handover of power even as the United States convulsed with protests at the election of the billionaire businessman with no previous political experience.
Their meeting in the Oval Office - the first time they had ever met, according to Mr Trump - stretched beyond the scheduled 10 minutes to an hour-and-a-half. At a short press conference afterwards Mr Obama described their conversation as "excellent" and "wide-ranging" and vowed to do everything he could to help the president-elect succeed.
Mr Trump, meanwhile, said he would continue to seek out Mr Obama for advice in future.
But despite these cordial words, bad blood remains. The bombastic property mogul won power on a platform that included reversing some of Mr Obama's signature legislation, including his health care provisions, and undoing his nuclear deal with Iran.
Before Thursday's meeting, White House spokesman Josh Earnest had said Mr Obama would brief his successor on the benefits of those policies.
"There is a tradition, particularly with regard to executive agreements, of successive presidents preserving some element of continuity," he said. "I don't know whether or not that will fly in this case."
Mr Trump was accompanied to the White House by his wife Melania, who met privately with Michelle Obama.
The 70-year-old tycoon faces a daunting task. Like all presidents-elect he must build a government, filling thousands of jobs. Unlike previous occupants of the White House, this is his first political job and follows a campaign marked by bold promises and little policy detail.
He also inherits a divided country, with millions of people still reeling in shock at the election of a man who promised to ban Muslims from entering the country, ridiculed a disabled reporter and wants to build a wall with Mexico.
Hillary Clinton may have lost the election but, with ballots still being counted, she is on course to win the popular vote.
Thousands of people ignored calls for unity on the day after the election, assembling from coast to coast to vent their anger and disgust.
The protests began with pupils walking out of schools in California - where many said they feared relatives who arrived as illegal immigrants may be deported - before spreading to at least a dozen cities including New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Philadelphia.
In Oakland, California, an estimated 7,000 people gathered around fires lit in the street. Shop windows were broken and several police officers were injured as protesters lobbed bottles and firecrackers.
In New York, the protesters marched to Trump Tower, Mr Trump's campaign and business headquarters, beneath banners reading: "Trump Makes America Hate". Police said 15 people were arrested.
In Washington, DC, protesters assembled outside the new Trump International hotel, chanting: "No racist USA, no Trump, no KKK."
Organisers said they wanted to demonstrate that civil society was resilient.
Ethan Miller of the workers' rights group Jobs with Justice which organised a vigil in Washington said it was a hard time for Americans.
"We saw a campaign that was filled with racism and misogyny and a whole host of other terrible tactics that ultimately were successful for winning the electoral college," he said.
"But we're not going to let a Donald Trump presidency stop the progress in this country."
Mr Trump has 70 days to prepare for inauguration, assembling his cabinet, putting together a White House team and adding detail to what was a thin election manifesto.
He has spent his time since election day huddled with advisers.
A transition website launched by the Trump team says he is looking to fill 4,000 jobs.
He is already taking on the security trappings of power. Loaded dump trucks lined up outside Trump Tower since election day have been bolstered by concrete blocks to thwart suicide car bombs, while a 3 kilometre no-fly zone has been put in place around the building by the Federal Aviation Authority.
At the same time, his transition team has begun the process of recruiting for key positions starting with national security posts, according to a source.
Loyal supporters such as Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, and Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, are expected to land senior jobs.
His team will begin getting briefings on the work of the defence department, state department, the treasury and a number of other agencies. "Landing teams" at each department have put together iPads crammed with information to help Mr Trump's officials start the process of taking over responsibility.
There are signs that Mr Trump was preparing for power even before the election. The statement on his campaign website proposing a ban on the entry of Muslims to the US had been quietly removed by the time Americans went to the polls.
"Donald J Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on," said the statement, issued on December 7 last year. "According to Pew Research, among others, there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population."
Mr Trump rowed back from the statement, eventually proposing a ban or strict vetting of visitors from countries compromised by terrorism, but some website caching services suggested it had been visible on his website until at least 5 November.
Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, added his voice to calls for unity, offering to work with the new president - up to a point.
"To the degree that Mr Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him," he said.
"To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting from Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
