Full Text of Trump's Secret 2021 Inauguration Letter to Biden Revealed

WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (OPA) — President Donald Trump scrawled a message to incoming President Joe Biden in his trademark Sharpie on January 20, 2021, setting aside public acrimony to offer words of encouragement. According to an excerpt from Biden's upcoming memoir published Tuesday by The New York Times, the letter stated that past presidents often failed to change history, but predicted a different path for Biden.

"This will not happen to you because I know how much you love the American people," Trump wrote in the note left inside the Oval Office desk. Trump added that Biden's strength would come from knowing that millions relied on his success. Biden wrote in his book that the letter struck him as reflecting two contrasting sides of Trump, particularly given that Trump had skipped the swearing-in ceremony following the January 6 Capitol attack.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung responded to the disclosure by criticizing Biden's legacy. Cheung stated that Biden should have heeded Trump's advice rather than attempting to target political opponents, adding that America is better off following the transition of power.

The publication of the 2021 letter follows interactions between the two leaders surrounding the 2025 presidential transition, where Trump welcomed Biden back to the White House. Trump's upcoming memoir, Retribution, noted that the two leaders might have been close friends absent political divisions, even as political tensions and disputes over the 2020 election persist.