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Former President Joe Biden says he received a “very generous” note from Donald Trump after he beat him in the 2020 presidential election, saying the contents of the letter “sounded like it was coming from an old friend.”
While outgoing presidents have typically left a letter in the Oval Office for the incoming president-elect, the contentious relationship between Trump and Biden led many to believe that the traditional exchange may not have taken place. But in his new memoir, Promise Me, America, Biden writes that he received a two-page letter from Trump that was handwritten on White House stationery, and addressed “To 46,” denoting Biden’s place as the 46th President in American history.
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OFFICIAL MEMOIR
Promise Me, America
The contents of the letter are revealed for the first time in Promise Me, America, with Biden writing that Trump was “offering his best wishes in warm language.”
President Biden had reportedly shown the letter to some members of his staff after his inauguration in 2021, but didn’t let anyone read it, only saying it was a “very generous” note. Now, Biden is finally sharing what Trump had to say as he left the White House.
“Many presidents have come and gone who simply governed as Republicans or Democrats,” Trump wrote, according to an excerpt of Biden’s memoir that was obtained by the New York Times. “Largely, they did not change history, they were just swept along in its relentless tide. This will not happen to you because I know how much you love the American people.”
While Trump and Biden had been longtime acquaintances, their opposing campaigns and political views quickly made them fierce adversaries, and Biden writes that the goodwill was short lived after the events of Jan. 6. “What Trump did on January 6, 2021, should never be forgotten,” Biden writes. “It should follow him to his grave.”
From publisher Little, Brown and Company, the 480-page hardcover traces President Biden’s four years in the White House, from his biggest accomplishments to his challenges and regrets. The book also addresses his decision to run for President again in 2024 — and why he ultimately decided to withdraw.
Biden also shares details into his family life during his time in the White House, with kids Ashley and Hunter, and wife Jill (the couple are set to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next year).
“From orchestrating a historic multibillion-dollar infrastructure renaissance and reviving American manufacturing to passing landmark legislation lowering healthcare costs and tackling the climate crisis, Biden details how he took risks, made gambles, and defied the pundits to build an economy, in his words, ‘from the middle out and the bottom up,’” reads a book description.
“And for the first time, he reveals the deeply agonizing calculation behind his decision in the summer of 2024 to step aside from the presidential race and to put his party and the nation before his personal ambitions.”
Biden revealed on social media this week that he will only be able to do limited promotion of the memoir due to his prostate cancer diagnosis.
“Some days are better than others,” Biden wrote. “It hasn’t stopped me. But sometimes it slows me down. What that means is, unfortunately, I won’t be able to do as many conversations about my book as I’d hoped. However, I’m hopeful the words on the page speak for themselves.”
