Joe Biden reveals letter Donald Trump left for him in Oval Office as outgoing President in 2021
Donald Trump left Joe Biden a surprisingly sweet letter after losing the presidential race to him in 2020.
Trump was inaugurated for his first term as POTUS in 2017 and ran against Biden in the 2020 presidential election in the hopes of landing his second term.
During his election campaign, Trump didn’t hold back when it came to his thoughts on Biden, branding him ‘sleepy Joe’ and ‘crooked’.
And when Biden won, pulling in 81.3 million votes to Trump’s 74.2 million, Trump baselessly claimed election fraud had been behind the win.
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Trump also snubbed Biden’s swearing-in ceremony, becoming the first president to not attend his successor's inauguration since 1869.
However, while it may seem as though Trump didn’t have a lot of love for his successor, Biden revealed that the outgoing president left him a ‘very generous letter’ when he took over the White House.
Speaking back in 2021, Biden said he wouldn't be shared the 'private' contents of the letter until he had the chance to talk to Trump about it directly.
And it seems as though that conversation has since taken place, as Biden has shared the letter in his upcoming memoir Promise Me, America.
An excerpt from the book has been published in The New York Times and details the letter Trump left for Biden in an envelope marked ‘46’ in tribute to him becoming the 46th US president.
The letter, addressed to ‘Dear Joe’, read: “Coming to work every day in the Oval Office is a blessing beyond imagination. History resounds from every wall, every statue, every beautiful painting and every corner of this magical place. Each staircase, hallway and door leads to yet another door and memory, another inflection point in the glorious story of America.
“I hope you take a moment every single day to take stock of where you are and the people who came before you, the titans who shaped the course of human events. You now have the opportunity to choose your place in history and I know you will be true to yourself and the American people.
“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 went on to write that Biden’s new role meant he carried ‘the hopes and dreams of the entire nation on your shoulders’.
“The gravity of that fact never leaves you, it is the anchor that grounds every decision you make,” he continued.
“Your strength, your deepest reservoir of energy, comes from the knowledge that millions upon millions of people are depending on you. Their ambitions and aspirations are the reason you are here, with so many counting on your success.
“May God bless you and Jill, and may God bless America!”
Biden also claims that behind the scenes, the two were more pally than you might think, revealing that Trump once told him: “You know, Joe, if it weren’t for politics, I believe we’d be good friends. Yes, if it weren’t for politics, we’d spend all our time golfing together.”
Topics: US News, Politics, Joe Biden, Donald Trump
Claire Reid
