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President Donald Trump Tuesday described the letter former President Biden left for him inside the Oval Office Resolute Desk as “inspiring” and teased reporters that he might publish the “very nice” note at some point.
Trump was asked about the letter, which he found inside the Resolute Desk on Monday with a little help from Fox News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Doocy, during a press conference announcing a $500,000 investment. millions of dollars in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
“It was a very nice letter,” Trump told reporters. “It was a bit of an inspirational letter. Enjoy it, do a good job. Important, very important. How important the work is.”
The president added that he appreciated the letter so much that he might make it public.
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President Donald Trump holds the letter former President Joe Biden left him on the Resolute Desk as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, January 20, 2025, in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“It was positive for him to write it,” Trump continued. “I appreciate the letter.”
Trump found the letter – addressed to “47″ – after Doocy asked if President Biden left him a letter while he signed a series of executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday in front of a group of reporters.
Trump found the letter on the Resolute Desk after Fox News Chief White House Correspondent Peter Doocy asked if Biden had left him a note. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“Maybe so. Don’t they leave it on the desk? I don’t know,” Trump told Doocy before revealing the white envelope. “Thank you, Peter. It could have been years before we found this thing.”
Trump had then joked with reporters that they should read it together before backing down. He said he would open the letter later Monday night.
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He presidential tradition The idea of leaving a letter to his successor began in 1989, when President Ronald Reagan left the White House after two terms and former President George HW Bush took office.
Handwritten letters by former presidents left to their successors are photographed on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, in Washington. Every president since Ronald Reagan has left a note 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 term in office. 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 note four years earlier. Trump became the first president to serve non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century.
Biden has said that Trump left him a “very generous letter,” but he has so far refused to share the content of what Trump wrote, considering it private.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
