Joe Biden opened a handwritten envelope from Donald Trump on his first day as president. Nearly six years later, he has described his reaction in print.
In his memoir, Promise Me, America, Biden writes that the letter left him feeling “as if there were two Donald Trumps.” The book goes on sale November 17.
The memoir also reproduces the note in its entirety. The text had stayed private since January 20, 2021. The New York Times reviewed a photocopy before the book’s release.
Trump composed the letter across two pages in black Sharpie on White House stationery. He sealed it in an envelope marked “To ’46,’” a reference to Biden as the 46th president.
Biden uses the memoir to explain why the note struck him as it did.
He writes that Trump “deeply destabilized our democracy” and “had not offered the traditional meeting between presidents.”
The letter, in his telling, carried a different tone. “here he was, offering his best wishes in warm language that sounded like it was coming from an old friend,” Biden writes.
The letter begins with the office itself.
“Coming to work every day in the Oval Office is a blessing beyond imagination. History resounds from every wall, every statue, every beautiful painting, and every corner of this magical place. Each staircase, hallway, and door leads to yet another door and memory, another inflection point in the glorious story of America,” Trump wrote.
He then urged Biden to pause and take in his surroundings.
“I hope you take a moment every single day to take stock of where you are and the people who came before you, the titans who shaped the course of human events. You now have the opportunity to choose your place in history, and I know you will be true to yourself and the American people,” the letter reads.
Trump went on to draw a line between presidents who shaped events and those carried along by them.
“Many presidents have come and gone who simply governed as Republicans or Democrats. 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,” he wrote.
The closing paragraphs focused on the pressures of the job.
“Your strength, your deepest reservoir of energy, comes from the knowledge that millions upon millions of people are depending on you. Their ambitions and aspirations are the reason you are here, with so many counting on your success,” Trump wrote.
He ended with a blessing for the new first couple. “May God bless you and Jill, and may God bless America!”
Biden said little about the letter on inauguration day, beyond calling it “very generous.”
He declined to share what it said and told the public he would not discuss it until he had spoken with Trump. He later showed the note to some staff members but did not let them read it.
Trump addressed the subject in September 2023 on NBC’s Meet the Press.
He described the letter as “a nice note” and said, “I took a lot of time in thinking about it.” He added that the choice to release it belonged to Biden.
The practice behind the letter has a long pedigree.
Ronald Reagan started the custom of leaving a note in the Resolute Desk for his successor in 1989. Every president since has continued it.
In January 2025, Biden and Trump swapped roles. Biden left a letter for Trump addressed to “47.”
Trump later called that note “very nice” and “a little bit of an inspirational-type letter.” Its contents became public within days.
The 2021 letter followed a different course. Its words stayed out of public view until excerpts from Biden’s memoir appeared this week.
