[ad_1]
“The president wrote a very generous letter,” Biden told reporters. “Because it was private, I won’t talk about it until I talk to him, but he was generous.”
A senior Trump aide described the letter to CNN as a “personal note” praying for the success of the country and the new administration in taking care of the country. The aide said writing the letter to Biden was one of many items on Trump’s list in the Oval Office Tuesday night.
Trump did not show the note he left Biden to many of his aides, according to one person.
In a briefing on Wednesday night, White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to elaborate on the letter Trump left Biden, telling reporters that according to Biden’s comments, “This is a letter that was private, as he told all of you.” He was both generous and courteous, and it was just a reflection that he did not plan to publish the letter unilaterally. “
While it may seem surprising that Trump maintained this tradition when he ignored all the other elements of a peaceful handover, it is in keeping with his past enthusiasm for the letter he received from President Barack Obama.
Trump was so impressed with Obama’s letter that he tried to call him as soon as he read it on inauguration day in 2017. But Obama was still flying to Palm Springs on the presidential plane and was unable to take the call.
When one of Obama’s aides approached the White House to return the call, the new president’s staff said Trump just wanted to thank him for the note and wanted Obama to get the message. The men never connected directly.
“It was long. It was complex. It was thoughtful,” Trump said of the letter the week after taking office in an interview with ABC News. “And it took time to do it, and I appreciated it.”
Later, he showed the letter to visitors in the Oval Office.
In his farewell speech Wednesday, Trump did not name Biden, but said he wished the new administration “good luck and great success.”
This comes after Trump spent months lying about manipulating the presidential election against him and spreading unfounded conspiracy theories about voter fraud. He incited a violent mob to storm the United States Capitol, killing five, including a Capitol police officer. He was recently indicted by the House of Representatives for his role in inciting that deadly attack on the Capitol, and there will be a trial in the United States Senate.
Former Vice President Mike Pence also left a letter for Vice President Kamala Harris. Pence attended Biden’s inauguration, and as he left the United States Capitol after the ceremony, Pence and former second lady Karen Pence shared a laugh with Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff.
