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- Biden said Trump left him a “very generous” letter, but would not publish its contents yet.
- Past presidents traditionally leave a letter for their successor in the Resolute Desk.
- Biden began his tenure by issuing a series of executive orders, many of which overturned Trump’s policies.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
President Joe Biden said a letter left to him by former President Donald Trump was “very generous”, but that he would not make the contents public until he spoke to his predecessor.
Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday and spent the afternoon signing a batch of Resolute Office decrees in the Oval Office. Many of them reversed Trump’s policies and tried to reconnect with the world, including joining the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization, and revoking the mostly imposed travel ban. to countries with a Muslim majority.
It is a tradition for outgoing presidents to leave their successors with a letter inside the oak desk and Trump, despite Biden’s inauguration, has kept that tradition.
“The president wrote a very generous letter,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday. “Because it was private, I won’t talk about it until I tell her about it, but it was generous.”
—ABC News (@ABC) January 20, 2021
Although the contents of the letter are unknown, CNN reported that it was written Tuesday evening and was a “personal note” including prayers for the Biden administration and the United States as that nation, citing a source in the Trump administration.
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, told reporters: “This is a private letter … she was both generous and kind.”
However, Trump did not place the note himself in the Oval Office, delegating the task to an assistant instead, Bloomberg reporter Jennifer Jacobs tweeted.
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President Joe Biden at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office on January 20, 2020.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Former Vice President Mike Pence also left a letter for Vice President Kamala Harris on his former desk in the West Wing, Jacobs said.
Former First Lady Melania Trump also left a note for First Lady Dr Jill Biden, CNN reported.
Upon leaving the White House in 2017, President Barack Obama left a letter to Trump praising his “remarkable run”.
“Millions of people have placed their hopes in you, and all of us, regardless of party, should look forward to increased prosperity and security during your tenure,” Obama wrote.
After becoming president in 2017, Trump installed a box on the Resolute Desk containing a red button that, when pressed, would invoke Diet Coke.
Footage from Biden’s party in the Oval Office appeared to show the button had been removed.
In his final speech as president before leaving Washington, DC on Wednesday morning, Trump wished the Biden administration “luck and great success.”
“We will come back in one form or another,” he added.
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