Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) shared a glimpse into what went down during the shared limousine ride of outgoing President Joe Biden and incoming President Donald Trump to the site of the inauguration on Monday.
Klobuchar, the chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, rode with the two men from the White House to the U.S. Capitol for Trump’s swearing-in ceremony.
In an interview with ABC News, Klobuchar recalled some of the topics that were discussed during the ride.
“I’m not going to reveal every detail except to say maybe we did discuss football just a little bit and some of the games yesterday,” Klobuchar told ABC’s David Muir. “We also talked about the now-president’s upcoming trip to Los Angeles, and I talked to him privately about that with the Olympics coming, and how important that is, and of course, mentioned the firefighters in my speech.”
Trump is planning to visit Los Angeles this week to survey the damage inflicted by wildfires that have killed at least 27 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
While Trump did not offer the same courtesy to Biden on the day of his inauguration in January 2021, Biden and his wife, Jill, greeted his successor and now-first lady Melania Trump at the White House on Monday morning, and invited the couple in for a tea reception before departing for the ceremony.
Klobuchar said Biden was “gracious,” adding that the two men and their staff recently worked together to help broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the war in Gaza.
The senator also expressed hope that Democrats will be able to forge a working relationship with Trump despite existing tensions.
“There’s going to be a lot of disagreements going forward but there has to be a way where we can cross the river of our divides and find some common ground when we can,” Klobuchar said.
We Won’t Back Down
Klobuchar, who kicked off the inauguration proceedings, said the theme of this year was “enduring democracy.”
“The presence of so many presidents and vice presidents here today is truly a testament to that endurance,” she said in her remarks.