US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday made his first cabinet appointment after his decisive election victory as he signaled his intention to ditch the outgoing administration's policies by talking to Vladimir Putin.
Trump's campaign manager Susie Wiles will serve as White House chief of staff, the first woman appointed to the high-profile role and the Republican's first appointment in his new administration.
Trump's crushing defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris is already shaking up American and world politics, just two days after Election Day and two and a half months before he returns to the White House.
Putin, the Russian president, called Trump “courageous” for the way he handled himself after an 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 since his victory with Putin, the authoritarian leader he has repeatedly praised over the years, but “I think we will speak.”
It marked a seismic shift from the stony silence that has existed between Biden and Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and underscored Trump's criticism of US support for Kiev.
The president-elect has previously said he would push through 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 had earlier joined the list of foreign leaders congratulating Trump, who was criticized by Harris during the election campaign for being too friendly to autocrats.
Trump doubled down on plans for mass deportations of undocumented migrants, telling NBC he had “no choice” and that there could be “no price tag” that was too high.
– 'Orderly' –
As Trump began working on his transition team at his Florida resort, Biden promised a peaceful and “orderly” transition of power.
Biden, 81, urged Americans in a solemn televised address to “lower the temperature”, in stark contrast to Trump's refusal to accept his 2020 election defeat.
The Democrat has invited Trump for talks at the White House. But Biden's spokeswoman said Trump's team had not yet signed key documents allowing the legal transition process to begin.
In his speech from the White House Rose Garden, Biden called for unity as he urged Democrats not to lose hope, saying: “Remember, defeat does not mean we are defeated.”
Yet there has already been finger-pointing in the party over Biden's initial decision to run for a second term despite his age, before he dropped out at the last minute in July and handed the reins to Harris, his vice president.
Trump won or led all seven battleground states, including Nevada, the last to be called for the former president by the networks.
The White House denied that Biden had any regrets. “He believed it was the right decision at the time,” said press officer Karine Jean-Pierre.
Trump's election after a criminal conviction for fraud, two impeachments and the fact that, at 78, he is the oldest elected president ever, reflected voters' desire for change from the Biden years.
Voters' concerns about the economy and migration were the driving force behind Trump's victory.
-Trump 2.0 –
Trump's first cabinet choice Wiles enjoys broad support within his team and was called to the stage during his victory speech on Wednesday morning.
“Susie is tough, smart, innovative and universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” Trump said of the steely, 67-year-old Florida resident.
The other frontrunners for a place in the Trump 2.0 administration reflect the disruptive form it is likely to take.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement for whom Trump has pledged a “major role” in health care, told NBC News on Wednesday that “I'm not going to take anyone's vaccines away.”
But the former independent candidate reiterated that the Trump administration would recommend removing fluoride – a mineral that US authorities say promotes dental and skeletal health – from public water supplies.
The world's richest man, Elon Musk, could also be in line for a job auditing government waste after right-wing SpaceX, Tesla and X bosses enthusiastically supported Trump.
Trump is expected to wield the ax on many of Biden's signature policies. He returns to the White House as a climate change denier, ready to undermine 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 legislation, which is pumping money into many congressional districts where members are reluctant to see it go.
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