Note: we are republishing this story which originally made the news in January 2025.

President Donald Trump has revealed the letter that former President Joe Biden left behind for him in the Oval Office before departing the White House, sharing its contents exclusively with Fox News on Wednesday.

The note, which had been placed inside the Resolute Desk, was discovered as Trump signed a series of executive orders. With help from Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy, Trump found the envelope addressed to “47.”

President Donald Trump holding up the letter that former President Joe Biden left for him, Photo Credit: Sky News Australia/Youtube

“It was a very nice letter,” he said. “It was a little bit of an inspiring-type letter. Encouraging. Basically saying, ‘Enjoy it, do a good job.’”

Trump noted the significance of the letter and seemed to appreciate the gesture. “It was encouraging, for him, in writing it. I appreciated the letter,” he added.

The tradition of outgoing presidents leaving notes for their successors dates back to 1989 when President Ronald Reagan left a message for George H.W. Bush. Since then, each president—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Trump, and Biden—has continued the custom.

President Donald Trump holding up the letter that former President Joe Biden left for him, Photo Credit: Sky News Australia/Youtube

Biden found himself in a unique historical position, becoming the first president to write a letter to the same person who had once written one to him. Trump, meanwhile, became the first leader since Grover Cleveland to serve two nonconsecutive terms.

While Trump has now made Biden’s note public, Biden has remained tight-lipped about the contents of the letter Trump left for him in 2021, only calling it “very generous” and choosing to keep it private.

Sources: Fox News