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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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Former President Joe Biden and his successor, President Donald Trump, spoke about California fires in a "vibrant conversation" during a car ride on Inauguration Day, according to an account from Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Speaking on Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom's podcast, This is Gavin Newsom, the Minnesota senator said she shared a car with Biden and Trump on the way to the Capitol on January 20, and revealed what the three spoke about.
Newsweek contacted representatives for Biden and Trump to verify this account.
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Why It Matters
Trump officially took office for his second term on January 20, 2025, replacing the man who had beaten him in the election just four years earlier.
Trump and Biden have long been political rivals. Trump has said that Biden stole the 2020 election from him and that he should have been declared the winner, though there has been no evidence to backup the claims. Biden dropped out of the 2024 election after a disastrous debate performance against Trump just months before Election Day.
Klobuchar served as chair of the Inaugural Ceremony Committee, meaning she oversaw the planning and execution of the inauguration and was a key witness to the day's events.
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What To Know
Klobuchar said the conversation between the three was "quite talkative."
"I brought up the fires in California," she said, referencing January wildfires in Southern California that lead to fatalities and mass evacuations.
"I knew that President Trump was going out there and President Biden had been there so I thought OK, here's a common ground moment with the firefighters and the like and we talked about many other things as well and it was a very vibrant conversation."
She also said that she would "go down in history" as the only person "who has ever ridden in a car alone with Donald Trump and Joe Biden for about 20 minutes."
What People Are Saying
Speaking to ABC News in January 2025, Klobuchar previously shed light on what the politicians spoke about: "I'm not going to reveal every detail except today maybe we did discuss football just a little bit.
"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."
What Happens Next
Biden and Trump continue to interact via the public sphere.
On Sunday, Biden's office revealed he had been diagnosed with an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.
In response, Trump wished Biden a "fast and successful recovery." However, he also accused members of Biden's team of "treason" and exposing the U.S. "to great danger" by supposedly not being honest about the former president's health.
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