- Biden said Trump had left him a “very generous” letter, but its contents would not be released yet.
- Retiring presidents traditionally leave their successor a letter in the Oval Office Resolute Desk.
- Biden began his term by issuing a stream of executive orders, many of which overturned Trump’s policies.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President Joe Biden said that a letter left to him by former President Donald Trump was “very generous”, but that he would not disclose the contents until he had spoken to his predecessor.
Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, and spent the afternoon signing a group of executive orders from the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. Many of them reversed Trump’s policies and sought to reconnect with the world, including joining the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization, and repealing the travel ban imposed on Muslim countries.
It is a tradition for outgoing presidents to leave their successors a letter in the oak bank, and Trump, despite hurting Biden’s inauguration, respected the tradition.
“The president wrote a very generous letter,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday. “Because it was private, I would not talk about it until I talked to him, but it was generous.”
—ABC News (@ABC) 20 January 2021
Although the contents of the letter are unknown, CNN reported that it was written Tuesday night and that it was a ‘personal note’ that includes prayers for the Biden government and the US as a nation, citing a source from Trump administration.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters: “This is a letter that was private … it was generous and gracious.”
However, Trump did not place the letter in the Oval Office himself, but handed over the task to an assistant, Jennifer Jacobs, Bloomberg reporter, tweeted.
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President Joe Biden on January 20, 2020 at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Former Vice President Mike Pence also left a letter to Kamala Harris on his old desk in the West Wing. Jacobs said.
Former first lady Melania Trump introduced the first lady, dr. Jill Biden, also left a note, reports CNN.
When he left the White House in 2017, President Barack Obama left a letter to Trump praising his “remarkable start-up.”
“Millions of people have placed their hopes in you, and all of us, regardless of party affiliation, should hope for greater prosperity and security during your tenure,” Obama wrote.
After becoming president in 2017, Trump installed a box on the Resolute Desk with a red button that Diet Coke would call.
Footage from Biden’s night in the Oval Office shows that the button has been removed.
In his last speech as president before leaving Washington, DC on Wednesday morning, Trump wished the Biden government “good luck and great success.”
“We will come back in some form,” he added.