Former President Donald Trump has upheld one tradition of a departing president, leaving his predecessor a letter, despite sidestepping almost any other major tradition in the transition of power.
President Joe Biden was inaugurated on January 20, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris. According to USA Today on MSN, people took to social media to speculate on what it meant after the announcement that Trump had left Biden a note.
From a lifestyle account in Florida, one Instagram post shows a photo of a note reading "Joe, you know I won," with Trump's alleged signature on stationery in the White House. The same letter was also posted here, and as of January 22, it had 1,278,988 views.
What does Trump's letter to Biden say?
The tradition of a departing president leaving letters to his successor is relatively new, but after Ronald Reagan wrote to George Bush in 1989, the trend has been retained.
In 2017, Trump received a letter from Obama that says, in part, "It is up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we have found them, regardless of the push and pull of daily politics."
White House spokesman Judd Deere stated before Biden's inauguration that Trump had left a letter for Biden. However, the letter's contents were never released.
After his inauguration, Biden confirmed to reporters that he received the letter from the former President, noting that it was "very generous."
He also had not released the contents of the letter as "it was private," and he won't talk about it until he talks to Trump. If the note means that the two will end up having a conversation, it's uncertain.
According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, there isn't a scheduled call between Trump and Biden.
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No evidence that the viral letter is authentic
There is no confirmation that the letter on social media is actual. The letter's content from the post also contradicts Biden's assessment of being "very generous." The seal at the top of the letter does not fit the seals used on other Trump letters made public.
The letter posted to Instagram is also dated "January 20, 2021," instead of the usual date formatting, followed by the day, with the month first. Finally, the letter's argument that Trump won the election is wrong. Election leaders, both Republicans and Democrats, have stated that there has been no systematic voter fraud, and there have been no successful lawsuits claiming fraud.
There have been several recent letters released from past and incoming presidents, as per ABC News. Herbert Hoover's letter to Franklin Roosevelt, who assumed office in 1933, is an early example.
In the 1932 race, Hoover was "badly defeated" but gave his best wishes to his successor. Dwight Eisenhower also sent a letter to then-president-elect John Kennedy in 1960.
"I would like you to know that I stand prepared to meet with you at any mutually agreeable time to consider issues of continuity of government and orderly transfer of executive responsibilities on January 20 from my administration to yours," the letter said.
The letter from @GeorgeHWBush to @billclinton showed true leadership. Pres. Reagan wrote a personal letter to Pres Bush for their transition pic.twitter.com/Kfi6AxprlS
— Bush Library (@Bush41Library) October 21, 2016
On January 21, 1961, his first full day in office, Kennedy sent a note back to Eisenhower thanking him for assisting in "one of the most effective transitions in the history of our Republic." He found a handwritten letter waiting for him at the White House when George H. W. Bush took over Ronald Reagan in 1989.
On January 20, 1993, exactly 28 years before the inauguration of Joe Biden, Bush then wrote to incoming President Bill Clinton as he took office. Since losing his re-election bid, Bush only served one term and dated his transition with a supportive message to his successor.
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Trump's letter to Biden trend goes viral
After Biden revealed that he received a letter from the former President, he only told reporters at the White House kind words to describe the letter. Still, some speculated that the note was not as "gentlemanly: as the President would want people to believe. According to Yahoo News, people from Twitter shared their version of Trump's parting words to Biden.
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