Biden, Trump’s security advisers meet to pass ceremonial batons via Reuters

Written by Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Top advisers to U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump put aside their differences – mostly – in a symbolic “passing of the torch” ceremony focused on national security issues on Tuesday.

Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, passed the baton to US Congressman Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice for the same job, in a revival of the Washington tradition organized by the United States Institute of Peace since 2001.

The two men are often in the media defending their administration’s conflicting views on Ukraine, the Middle East and China.

On Tuesday, Waltz and Sullivan politely sought common ground on a panel designed to outline the continuing power of the United States.

“It’s like a weird, weird version of ‘The Dating Game,’ you know the old game where you write down your answer, and the person writes down their answer, and you see how compatible they are,” Sullivan said.

The event provided a preview of what can be expected on Monday when Trump is inaugurated as president. This peaceful transfer of power, a symbol of more than two centuries of American democracy, comes four years after Trump defied and never acknowledged his loss in the 2020 election.

This time both sides are talking. Sullivan, at the request of Biden, told Waltz in private, at length, about the policy of the current administration around the world, as Trump’s aide has always said that the new party will move away from it.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Biden’s envoy Brett McGurk are working together this week to broker a cease-fire deal for hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Asked about the key challenges facing the new administration, Waltz and Sullivan on Tuesday pointed to the fires in California and China.

Sullivan also highlighted the hostage treaty and artificial intelligence as key issues.

Waltz pointed to the U.S.-Mexico border, the place where Trump tore up Biden’s path.

But he praised the Biden administration for deepening ties between America’s partners in Asia.

Throughout the relationship between the two men, and talk about the prospects for peace in the Middle East, Waltz paints a picture of the painful decisions that await him in his new job.

“Evil is there,” he said. “Sometimes you have to put bombs on your forehead.”