President Donald Trump on Tuesday, former President Biden described the letter left for him in the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as “inspirational” and teased reporters that he might one day release the “very beautiful” note.
Trump was asked about the letter, which he found in the Resolute Desk on Monday with a little help from Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy, during a press conference announcing a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
“It was a very nice letter,” Trump told reporters. “It was a bit of an inspiring letter. Enjoy it, do it well. Important, very important. How important the work is.”
The president added that he appreciated the letter so much that he was allowed to release it to the public.
President Donald Trump holds up the letter that former President Joe Biden left for him at the Resolute Desk as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, January 20, 2025, in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“It was positive for him to write it,” Trump continued. “I appreciated the letter.”
Trump found the letter – addressed to “47″ – after Doocy asked if President Biden left him a letter while signing a series of executive orders in the Oval Office in front of a bunch of reporters on Monday.
Trump found the letter in the Resolute Desk after Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked if Biden had left him a note. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
‘Maybe. Don’t they leave it on the desk? I don’t know,” Trump told Doocy before discovering the white envelope. ‘Thanks, Peter. It could take years for us to find this thing.”
Trump had then teased reporters that they should read it together before withdrawing the government. He said he would open the letter later Monday evening.
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The presidential tradition The process of leaving a letter to their 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 for their successors are photographed in Washington on Saturday, January 18, 2025. 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 just one term. The tradition continues to this day by Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Trump and Biden.
However, Biden was the first president uniquely positioned to write 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.
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Biden has said Trump left him a “very generous letter” but has so far declined to share the contents of what Trump wrote because he considers it private.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
