Trump interrupted Biden to ask about Putin and Xi in post-election Oval Office meeting
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Washington, June 29, 2026 (Photo: REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz)
Donald Trump asked Joe Biden about Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a White House meeting in November 2024, People wrote on June 30.
The details emerged in Regime Change, a newly released book by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
According to the book, President Biden attempted to discuss vital foreign policy details with Trump, but the newly elected U.S. leader "hadn't yet started focusing on the details." He repeatedly interrupted the conversation to ask about the personal traits of world leaders and to find out how things were going with those he had worked with in his first term, particularly Putin and Xi.
"What is he like? Can you make a deal with him? What is Putin like now? What is Xi like now?" Trump asked during the Oval Office meeting, according to the NYT journalists.
At the same time, the book noted that Trump was "caring and polite" toward Biden - a man he had spent years criticizing. He "warmly assured Biden that he had a successful presidency" and promised he "would not do anything to harm his son," Hunter Biden. At the end of his presidency, Biden granted pardon for his son, who faced up to 17 years in prison on suspected tax evasion charges.
On June 28, Trump took to Truth Social, dismissing the book as "mostly fabricated" and claiming it contains fake information. He branded Haberman a "third-rate writer" who "earned a first-rate income thanks to your favorite president, meaning me."
Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump sold over 300,000 copies in its first week. The AP noted the book covers the first 14 months of Trump’s second term, detailing his military decisions, his weaponization of the Justice Department against political opponents, his conversations with other influential figures, and his plans to overhaul the White House.
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