A handwritten letter that Donald Trump left behind for Joe Biden on his way out of the White House in January 2021 has finally surfaced in full, and its warm tone has caught attention for how sharply it contrasts with the public sparring between the two men ever since. The letter, addressed simply “To ‘46,’” appears reprinted in Biden's forthcoming memoir, “Promise Me, America,” due out next Tuesday.
According to The New York Times, the letter was dated Jan. 20, 2021 — inauguration day — and did not criticize Biden or challenge the results of the 2020 election. The Associated Press, which reported through The Virginian-Pilot that it reviewed a photocopy of the two-page note, said it was handwritten on White House stationery in black Sharpie. Trump did not attend Biden's inauguration that day, nor did he host Biden and the incoming first lady for the traditional White House tea beforehand, according to the same reporting.
What Trump Actually Wrote
In the letter, Trump told Biden he believed Biden “will be true to yourself and the American people,” per the Times. He also wrote that many presidents have governed as Republicans or Democrats without fundamentally changing the course of history, but suggested Biden would not simply be swept along by history because of how much he cared about the public. As CP24 reported, Trump wrote, “This will not happen to you because I know how much you love the American people.”
Biden had publicly alluded to the note before, once calling it “very generous,” but according to the same CP24 account he had not previously discussed its specific contents. Per the reporting carried through the Virginian-Pilot, Biden showed the letter to some staff members after his 2021 inauguration and considered it private, though he had not let anyone else read it in full until now.
Trump's Past Comments on the Letter
Trump has spoken about the letter publicly at least once before. In a September 2023 NBC interview cited in the seed reporting, he called it “a nice note,” said he had taken considerable time thinking about what to write, and said it was up to Biden whether to share its contents. Those remarks predate the memoir's disclosure of the letter's actual text.
A Harsher Portrait Elsewhere in the Book
The warmth of the letter sits in contrast with how Biden writes about Trump elsewhere in “Promise Me, America,” the memoir covering his time in the White House. Biden reportedly describes Trump as dismissive and destructive, writing that Trump's administration was determined to tear down institutions and inflame hatreds, and that Trump seemed unable to tolerate building on the accomplishments of others. Biden also lamented Trump's Department of Government Efficiency and the reversal of many of his own administration's policies, according to the reporting carried by the Virginian-Pilot.
Biden reportedly goes further regarding the events of Jan. 6, 2021, writing that Trump led an insurrection during the Capitol attack and that Trump's goal was to remain in power after voters had removed him from office. Biden wrote that those actions should never be forgotten. The Atlantic published the first excerpt from the memoir on Monday, ahead of next week's release.
White House Pushes Back
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung responded by calling Biden a disgrace, according to the seed reporting. Cheung said Trump should have heeded Biden's wise words but instead, in Cheung's telling, tried to harm the country and weaponize the justice system against political enemies.
The letter's disclosure adds a new data point to a familiar subject: how outgoing presidents communicate with their successors behind closed doors. The Associated Press has previously examined that tradition in a piece asking whether Biden will leave Trump an Oval Office letter of his own, while PBS NewsHour has explored the broader history of presidents leaving personal notes for successors.
