Joe Biden reveals surprisingly warm letter Donald Trump left him in Oval Office after 2020 election defeat
A handwritten letter that Donald Trump left for Joe Biden in the Oval Office in January 2021 has now been made public.
Biden is reprinting the note in his upcoming memoir, Promise Me, America.
Written in Sharpie on White House stationery, it was left in an envelope addressed to '46', a nod to Biden being the 46th president.
At the time, Biden said only that Trump had left him a 'very generous letter' and declined to reveal what it said.
Advert
Trump lost the 2020 US presidential election to Biden with the note being left as he departed the White House.
It is dated January 20, 2021, when Biden assumed office, and Trump was 74 when he wrote it.
During the election campaign, Trump had called Biden, among other things, 'sleepy', 'a loser', 'very stupid', 'slow', 'crooked' and 'impaired'.
Trump claimed the election was stolen and, on January 6, 2021, his supporters staged an attempted insurrection.
He later skipped Biden's swearing-in ceremony, flying from the White House to Palm Beach, Florida instead.
What did Trump write in his letter to Biden?
The letter runs to six paragraphs, opens with 'Dear Joe' and is signed 'Donald'.
Trump begins, "Coming to work every day in the Oval Office is a blessing beyond imagination." He goes on, "History resounds from every wall, every statue, every beautiful painting and every corner of this magical place."
He describes staircases, hallways and doors that each lead to 'another inflection point in the glorious story of America', and refers to 'the titans who shaped the course of human events'.
Trump urges Biden to 'take a moment' each day to reflect on the people who came before him, and says he knows Biden will be 'true' to himself and the American people.
"Your strength, your deepest reservoir of energy, comes from the knowledge that millions upon millions of people are depending on you," he wrote.
The note closes, "May God bless you and Jill, and may God bless America!"
Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, told Metro that Biden should have followed Trump's 'wise words'.
"But instead he tried to destroy this country and weaponise the justice system against his political enemies," Cheung said.
"Biden is a disgrace, and America is better off with him no longer as president."
Did Trump and Biden get along after the 2024 election?
Trump surprised Biden again in 2024, after being voted back into the White House.
In an excerpt from his book published in The Atlantic, Biden said Trump's private words left him feeling 'as if there were two Donald Trumps'.
Biden described a 'traditional meeting' in the Oval Office after the 2024 election, where Trump surprised him with 'a tone so friendly that I thought he might be putting me on'.
"You know, Joe, if it weren't for politics, I believe we'd be good friends," Trump told him, according to the book.
Topics: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, US News
Thomas Bamford
