Donald Trump Meets President Obama At White House: Live Updates

Donald Trump and President Obama discussed foreign and domestic policy for more than an hour Thursday afternoon at the White House, the first time the men have spoken face-to-face since Trump's stunning election victory.

White House Press Secretary said Obama still feels that Trump is "unqualified" to be president, but those conflicts were not apparent when the two men sat together for a joint appearance with the White House press pool following their meeting.

When reporters shouted questions at the men following brief remarks, Obama leaned over to Trump and joked with him that he shouldn't answer their questions. There were no signs of division or animosity, either, when they gave their statements moments before that.

"Most of all, I want to emphasize you, Mr. President-Elect, that we now are gonna want to do everything we can to help you succeed," Obama told Trump in front of the reporters. "Because if you succeed, then the country succeeds."

"I have great respect," Trump said of Obama. "The meeting lasted for almost an hour and a half, and as far as I'm concerned, it could have gone on for a lot longer. We discussed a lot of situations, some wonderful and some difficult. I very much look forward to dealing with the president in the future."

First Lady Michelle Obama also met with Melania Trump, Donald Trump's third wife who has said she will pursue a campaign against social media bullying when she assumes the first lady role.

But the current and future first families did not pose for the traditional photo-op together. The Obamas cancelled the photo-op, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, underscoring the divisions that still exist between the two families.

The Obama-Trump meeting put America's president-elect face-to-face with the man who for years Trump said was not born in the United States and therefore not a legitimate U.S. president.

Obama, who campaigned aggressively against Trump and called him "unfit" for the presidency, has said he wants to make sure the transition of power goes as smoothly as possible and that he is "rooting" for Trump's success.

Obama hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers at the White House later Thursday afternoon to celebrate their NBA championship.

As Trump's plane left LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Thursday morning for the first time as president-elect, Port Authority fire trucks showered Trump's plane with a water cannon salute.

Trump's meeting with Obama followed phone conversations with several major world leaders, including Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"The presidency and the vice presidency is bigger than any of us," Obama said in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, following Trump's Election Day win over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden by his side, added: "So I have instructed my team to set the example that President Bush’s team set eight years ago and work as hard as we can to make sure this is a successful transition for the president-elect because we are all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country.”

It may have been comments from Obama himself that sparked one of the most improbable rises in American politics. Obama thoroughly humiliated Trump at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner, reportedly enraging Trump and starting what would become a revenge trail that led him to be Obama's successor.

Read more about that night in 2011 here.

Image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr, used under Creative Commons