To pass the torch…a meeting that brings together Biden and Trump’s national security advisors

Advisors to US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump put their differences aside, for the most part, in a symbolic “passing of the torch” event that focused on national security issues, yesterday, Tuesday.

Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan handed a symbolic baton to Representative Mike Waltz, who was chosen by Trump for the same position, in a ritual in Washington organized by the United States Institute of Peace since 2001.

The two men usually appear in the media to defend the two presidents’ opposing views on Ukraine, the Middle East and China.

Yesterday, Tuesday, Waltz and Sullivan searched for common ground at an event held specifically to highlight the transfer of power in the United States.

The event provides an overview of what will happen next Monday when Trump is inaugurated as president.

This peaceful transfer of power, a hallmark of American democracy for more than two centuries, comes four years after Trump refused to acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 election.

But this time the two sides communicated. At Biden’s request, Sullivan briefed Waltz in a private conversation on the details of the current administration’s policy at the international level, while Trump’s aide always says that the new team will follow a completely different path from this policy.

Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and Biden’s envoy, Brett McGurk, are working together this week to complete a ceasefire agreement in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages held by Hamas.

When asked about the main challenges facing the new administration, Waltz and Sullivan pointed to the wildfires in California and China.

Sullivan also mentioned the detainee agreement and artificial intelligence as two major issues.

While Waltz touched on the US border with Mexico, the region where Trump overthrew Biden’s approach, he praised the Biden administration with regard to strengthening relations between US allies in Asia.