Biden left Trump ‘inspirational’ message in ‘very nice’ letter, new president says

President Donald Trump on Tuesday described the letter former President Biden left him inside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as “inspirational” and teased reporters that he may release the “very nice” note at some point.

Trump was asked about the letter, which he found inside 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 little bit of an inspirational-type letter. Enjoy it, do a good job. Important, very important. How important the job is.”

The president added that he appreciated the letter so much that he may release it to the public.

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President Donald Trump holds up the letter that former President Joe Biden left for him in the Resolute Desk as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“It was a positive, for him, in writing 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 he was signing a flurry of executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday in front of a gaggle of reporters.

Trump found the letter in the Resolute Desk after Fox News Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked whether Biden had left him a note. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“He may have. Don’t they leave it in the desk? I don’t know,” Trump told Doocy before discovering the white envelope. “Thank you, Peter. It could have been years before we found this thing.”

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Trump had then teased reporters that they should read it together before pulling back the reigns. He said he’d open the letter later Monday night.

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The presidential tradition of leaving a letter to their successor began in 1989 when President Ronald Reagan left the White House after two terms in office, with former President George H. W. Bush taking over.

Handwritten letters from former presidents left for their successors are photographed Saturday, Jan 18, 2025, in Washington. 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 former President Bill Clinton after just one term in office. The tradition has carried on to this day through Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Trump and Biden.

Biden, however, was the first president to find himself in the unique position of writing 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 nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s.

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Biden has said Trump left him a “very generous letter,” but has so far declined to share the content of what Trump wrote, deeming it private.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.