Biden left Trump an ‘inspiring’ message in a ‘very nice’ letter, the new president says
President Donald Trump on Tuesday, he described the letter former President Biden left for him inside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as “inspirational” and teased reporters that he might release a “very nice” message at some point.
Trump was asked about the letter, which he found at the Resolute Desk on Monday with a little help from Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy, during a news conference announcing a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
It was a very nice letter, Trump told reporters. “It was an inspirational letter. Enjoy, do a good job. Important, very important. How important work is.”
The president added that he values the letter so much that he could release it to the public.
President Donald Trump holds a letter left for him by former President Joe Biden at the Resolute Desk as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“It was positive, for him, that he wrote that,” Trump continued. “I appreciate the letter.”
Trump found the letter – addressed to “47″ – after Doocy asked if President Biden had left him a letter as he signed a stack of executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday in front of a throng of reporters.
Trump found the letter at the Resolute Desk after Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy asked if Biden had left him a message. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“Maybe it is. Don’t they leave it in the table? I don’t know,” Trump told Doocy before revealing a white envelope. “Thank you, Peter. It could be years before we find this thing.”
Trump then teased reporters that they should read it together before withdrawing the rule. He said he would open the letter later Monday night.
The presidential tradition Leaving a letter to your successor began in 1989 when President Ronald Reagan left the White House after two terms in office and former President George HW Bush took over.
Handwritten letters from former presidents left to their successors are photographed Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Washington. Every president since Ronald Reagan has left a message for his successor. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
Bush continued the tradition despite losing the White House to the former president Bill Clinton after only one mandate. The tradition has continued to this day through Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Trump and Biden.
Biden, however, was the first president to find himself in the unique position of writing a letter to someone who is both his successor and the predecessor who left him a message four years earlier. Trump became the first president to serve non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s.
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Biden said Trump left him a “very generous letter,” but has so far refused to share the contents of what Trump wrote, considering it private.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
