Washington, United States:
Following the long-standing tradition in American politics, outgoing US President Joe Biden left a letter for his successor Donald Trump, who returned to the Oval Office on January 20. The full contents of the letter have now been revealed.
While signing the first set of executive orders, Mr Trump found the letter at the Resolute Desk. He read the contents of the letter in front of reporters on Monday, reported Fox News.
The letter was addressed to “Dear President Trump” and read, “As I take leave of this sacred office I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years. 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 the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation.
Mr Biden added, “May God bless you and guide you as he has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding.” Dated January 20, 2025, the letter was signed “Joe Biden”.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump shared his thoughts on the letter. He said, “It was a very nice letter. It was a little bit of an inspirational-type letter. Enjoy it, do a good job. Important, very important. How important the job is.”
“It was positive, for him, in writing it. I appreciated the letter,” Mr Trump concluded.
In 2017, when Donald Trump assumed office for his first term, his predecessor Barack Obama also left a letter for him, saying both men had been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune. “Not everyone is so lucky. It’s up to us to do everything we can (to) build more ladders of success for every child and family that’s willing to work hard,” he said.
“We are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions – like the rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties – that our forebears fought and bled for. Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it’s up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them,” Obama wrote.
The presidential tradition of leaving a letter to their successor began with Ronald Reagan, who, in 1989, left a light-hearted note for his successor, George H.W. Bush. In an illustration of an elephant overcome by turkeys, he wrote “Don’t let the turkeys get you down.”
Since then, every president has upheld this custom, with the letters often offering insight into the challenges and responsibilities of the presidency.
