"He's a good man," said Mr Trump, the soon-to-be 45th president, of his predecessor.
But that compliment belied years of clashes between the two men. Mr Trump has referred to Mr Obama as the "worst president" in the country's history and led a challenge to the legitimacy of his presidency by questioning where he was born.
Mr Obama has returned stinging criticisms by calling Mr Trump "unfit" to be commander-in-chief.
Though their meeting appeared to be cordial, history has shown that the peaceful transition of power between leaders can be outright awkward.
