US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday appointed his first Cabinet after his election victory, while signaling that he intends to abandon the outgoing administration's policies by talking to Vladimir Putin.
Trump's campaign manager Susie Wiles will serve as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to be appointed to the top post and the first Republican nominee of his incoming administration.
Trump's crushing loss to Democrat Kamala Harris has shaken American and global politics, just two days after Election Day and two and a half months before he returns to the White House.
Putin, who is the president of Russia, praised Trump as “courageous” in the way he behaved following the assassination attempt at a rally in July, and said he was “ready” to hold talks with him.
Billionaire Trump later told NBC News that he had not spoken to Putin, an authoritarian leader he has repeatedly admired over the years, since his victory but “I think we will.”
It marked a major shift in the icy peace that has existed between Biden and Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and underscored Trump's criticism of US support for Kyiv.
The president-elect previously said he would push for a peace deal in that conflict — but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who spoke with Trump on Wednesday, said calls for a ceasefire were “dangerous.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier joined the list of foreign leaders congratulating Trump, who was criticized by Harris during the election campaign for being too friendly with autocrats.
Trump has doubled down on his plans to deport more undocumented immigrants, telling NBC that he has “no choice” and that there can be no “price” that is too high.
– 'In order' –
As Trump began work at his Florida resort on his transition team, Biden vowed a “peaceful and orderly” transition.
Biden, 81, urged Americans in a solemn televised address to “turn down the heat,” in stark contrast to Trump's refusal to accept defeat in the 2020 election.
The Democratic Alliance invited Trump to speak at the White House. But a spokesman for Biden said Trump's team had not yet signed the key documents that allow the legal transition process to begin.
In his speech in the Rose Garden of the White House, Biden called for unity while urging Democrats not to lose hope, saying: “Remember, defeat does not mean defeat.”
But finger-pointing has already erupted in the party over Biden's initial decision to run for a second term despite his age, before leaving at the last minute in July to hand the reins to Harris, his vice president.
Trump won or carried all seven battleground states, including Nevada, which was the latest of the former president's calls to the networks.
The White House denied that Biden had any remorse. “He believed it was the right decision to make at the time,” said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Trump's election in the face of fraud, double impeachment and the fact that he is the oldest president ever elected at 78 showed voters' desire for change from the Biden years.
Voters' concerns about the economy and immigration fueled Trump's victory.
– Trump 2.0 –
Wiles, Trump's first cabinet pick, is getting strong support from his own party and was called to the stage in his victory speech Wednesday morning.
“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and admired and respected around the world. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” Trump said of the 67-year-old Florida native.
Some of the local frontrunners in the Trump administration 2.0 are showing the disturbing nature it may take.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the leader of the anti-vaccine movement that Trump has promised a “big role” in health care, told NBC News on Wednesday that “I'm not going to take anyone's vaccines.”
But the former independent congressman stressed that the Trump administration would recommend removing fluoride — which the U.S. Minerals Authority says aids dental health and bone health — from public water.
The world's richest man, Elon Musk, could also be in line for federal workplace waste inspections after the right-wing CEO of SpaceX, Tesla and X enthusiastically backed Trump.
Trump is expected to take an ax to many of Biden's signature policies. He returns to the White House as a climate change denier, ready to split Biden's green policies with his promise to “drill, baby, drill” for oil.
He may find it difficult to dismantle some of Biden's investment laws, which put money into many Congressional districts where members may not want to see it pass.
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