Trump and Obama bury hatchet for Oval Office sit-down

US president-elect Donald Trump called President Barack Obama "a very good man" as they sought to set aside a bruising US election and plan the takeover of power during a meeting in the Oval Office.

The bitter rivals tried to present a picture of unity as they spoke briefly to the media after a 90-minute one-on-one meeting, 73 days before Mr Obama hands over the White House to Mr Trump.

‘Unfit to serve’

Weeks after Mr Obama called the Republican “unfit to serve as president” and Mr Trump described the Democrat as probably “the worst president in the history of our country”, the 44th American president said that he would spare no effort to help the soon-to-be 45th president prepare for office.

Mr Obama described their meeting as “excellent”, while Mr Trump said he looked forward to hearing the outgoing president’s “counsel”.

“I want to emphasise to you, Mr President-elect, that we now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed because if you succeed, then the country succeeds,” said Mr Obama.

The president, who had until Monday been warning that Mr Trump could not be trusted with the nuclear codes, sat feet from a man whose rose politically by questioning Mr Obama’s birthplace and legitimacy to be president.

Mr Trump, who said that it was their first meeting and only set to last for 10 or 15 minutes, remarked that it had been a “great honour” being with Mr Obama and that he had “great respect”.

“We discussed a lot of different situations, some wonderful, and some difficulties,” said an uncharacteristically restrained Mr Trump, pausing to consider his words carefully. “I very much look forward to dealing with the president in the future, including [his] counsel.”

His visit to the White House was the latest episode in the gripping political drama that has stunned the country and the world since Mr Trump’s shock victory in Tuesday’s election.

Bruising putdowns

Mr Obama had actively campaigned for Mr Trump's Democrat rival Hillary Clinton over recent months, at times delivering bruising putdowns of the Republican.

The businessman’s plane, branded with his own name, was tracked by live TV camera as it flew into Washington’s Reagan National Airport en route to the White House for the highly anticipated meeting.

The images of the former reality-TV star’s journey to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue carried heavy symbolism: the arrival of a new force in the US capital and the beginning of the formal takeover by an anti-establishment outsider who has vowed to “drain the swamp” and overhaul Washington politics.

The visit came amid speculation about Mr Trump's first cabinet and possible roles for his top campaigners, New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich, one-time New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and Alabama senator Jeff Sessions.

Wall Street banker Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan was contacted by a senior figure on Mr Trump's team overseeing his takeover to gauge his interest in the job of US treasury secretary, Reuters reported.