President Donald Trump revealed the contents of a letter President Joe Biden left him after leaving the Oval Office earlier this week exclusively to Fox News on Wednesday.
The letter that Trump found inside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office with a little help from Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy, addressed “Dear President Trump” and read as follows:
“As I bid farewell to this sacred office, I wish you and your family the best for the next four years. The American people – and people around the world – look to this house for steadfastness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that the years ahead will be a time of prosperity , peace and grace for our nation.
“May God bless and guide you as he has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding.”
BIDEN LEFT TRUMP AN ‘INSPIRATIONAL’ MESSAGE IN A ‘VERY NICE’ LETTER, THE NEW PRESIDENT SAYS
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)
The letter is signed “Joe Biden” and from January 20, 2025.
On Monday, Trump found the letter – a white envelope addressed “47″” – after Doocy asked if Biden left him a letter while he was signing a stack of executive orders in the Oval Office in front of a throng of reporters.
“Maybe it is. Aren’t they leaving it on the table? I don’t know,” Trump told Doocy before revealing the letter. “Thank you, Peter. It could be years before we find this thing.”
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. Trump revealed the contents of Biden’s letter Wednesday exclusively to Fox News. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
On Tuesday, Trump responded to additional questions from Doocy about the contents of the letter.
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.”
“It was positive, for him, that he wrote that,” Trump continued. “I appreciate the letter.”
TRUMP EXCORES BISHOP AS A ‘RADICAL LEFT HARD LEFT HATER’ AFTER POLITICALLY CHARGED PRAYER
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. The tradition has continued to this day through Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Trump and Biden.
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)
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.
