If you only knew Donald Trump from his public attacks on Joe Biden, you might struggle to recognize the man who wrote this letter.
On his final day in the White House, Trump left Biden a message praising his love for America and encouraging him to make his place in history. Biden has now published the note, giving Americans a glimpse of a rather different side of their political feud.
Trump wrote the letter on January 20, 2021, shortly before leaving the White House. He had refused to attend Biden’s inauguration, breaking with the tradition of outgoing presidents welcoming their successors at the swearing-in ceremony. According to The New York Times, which reviewed a photocopy of the original, Trump left the message in the Oval Office in an envelope addressed to “46,” Biden’s presidential number.
Biden mentioned the letter during his first week as president, describing it as “very generous.” He kept its contents private for years, even as Trump continued attacking his presidency and questioning his 2020 election victory. The full text now appears in Biden’s forthcoming memoir, Promise Me, America.
Trump’s message opened with an almost poetic description of the presidential office.
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“Coming to work every day in the Oval Office is a blessing beyond imagination,” he wrote. “History resounds from every wall, every statue, every beautiful painting, and every corner of this magical place.”
He encouraged Biden to appreciate the history surrounding him, writing that every staircase, hallway and door carried memories of the presidents who had occupied the building.
“You now have the opportunity to choose your place in history, and I know you will be true to yourself and the American people,” Trump wrote.
His next passage is particularly striking given the years of hostility that followed.
“Many presidents have come and gone who simply governed as Republicans or Democrats. Largely, they did not change history, they were just swept along in its relentless tide. This will not happen to you because I know how much you love the American people.”
Trump also reminded Biden that the presidency came with an enormous responsibility. “You carry the hopes and dreams of the entire nation on your shoulders,” he wrote, adding that millions of people would be depending on his success.
The farewell ended with a blessing for Biden and his wife: “May God bless you and Jill, and may God bless America!”
NEW
The New York Times has obtained the letter President Trump left for President Biden in the Oval Office in 2021.
The letter — which Trump wrote by hand using his signature black Sharpie — is printed in Biden’s forthcoming presidential memoir.
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Biden writes in his memoir that reading the letter felt like encountering “two Donald Trumps.” He recalls how Trump had “deeply destabilized our democracy” and had “not offered the traditional meeting between presidents.”
The letter, however, sounded as though it had been written by someone who held considerable affection for him. Biden described Trump as “offering his best wishes in warm language that sounded like it was coming from an old friend.”
Their November 2024 meeting at the White House produced another exchange that Biden included in his book. After Trump won the election, he reportedly told his predecessor: “You know, Joe, if it weren’t for politics, I believe we’d be good friends.”
Trump’s public treatment of Biden offered little evidence of that friendship. He continued calling the 2020 election rigged and regularly attacked Biden’s presidency. His communications director, Steven Cheung, responded to the newly revealed letter with another attack, saying Biden should have followed Trump’s “wise words” and describing him as “a disgrace.”
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
