On Monday, President Donald Trump made an unexpected reveal to the media by showing them a letter left behind by President Joe Biden, which had been tucked away in the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
This letter, part of a long-standing tradition, is a gesture from one president to the next, offering well wishes and words of wisdom as the new administration takes over.
The Contents of the Letter
The letter, dated January 20, the day Biden left office, carried a message of goodwill from the outgoing president.
“As I take leave of this sacred office, I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years,” Biden wrote.
He continued with words of encouragement: “The American people – and people around the world – look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation.
May God bless you and guide you as He has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding.”
This message, signed by Biden, stands in contrast to the heated partisan rhetoric that defined the 2020 election campaign.
At the time, Biden warned that Trump’s leadership posed a threat to democracy, while Trump painted his opponent as a figurehead of corruption.
Despite these clashes, the letter revealed a more cordial side of their relationship.
Trump’s Reaction to the Letter
When Trump was asked on his first day in office about the tradition of a letter from the outgoing president, he seemed unsure at first. “He may have.
Don’t they leave it in the desk? I don’t know,” Trump said before rummaging through the desk drawers and finding the white envelope addressed to him.
He then thanked Fox News reporter Peter Doocy for asking the question, joking, “It could have been years before we found this thing.”
The following day, Trump shared his thoughts on the letter.
“It was a very nice letter,” he told reporters in the Roosevelt Room.
“It was a little bit of an inspirational-type letter. Enjoy it, do a good job.
Important, very important. How important the job is.”
The Tradition of the Presidential Letter
This tradition of leaving a letter in the Oval Office began with President Ronald Reagan in 1989.
Reagan, who had served as George H.W.
Bush’s vice president before becoming president, left a lighthearted note for his successor.
His letter, written on stationery featuring turkeys climbing on an elephant with the words “Don’t let the turkeys get you down,” read: “I treasure the memories we share and I wish you all the very best. You’ll be in my prayers.”
He also added that he would miss their lunches together.
While Trump did not attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021, due to his baseless claims of a rigged election, he did leave a letter behind.
Biden later described the note as “very generous,” though the contents were kept private.
Biden said he would not discuss the letter until he had spoken with Trump personally, and its contents have never been made public.
This article was published on TDPel Media. Thanks for reading!
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