A letter Donald Trump sent to Joe Biden in 2021 used notably warm language about the incoming president’s love for the country. The details appear in an excerpt from Biden’s forthcoming book, Promise Me, America. New York Times reporter Tyler Pager examined a photocopy of the letter along with the book passage.
Biden wrote that the message left him feeling as if there were two Donald Trumps. He described Trump as having deeply destabilized our democracy and noted that Trump had not offered the traditional meeting between presidents. At the same time, Biden observed that Trump was offering his best wishes in warm language that sounded like it was coming from an old friend.
The current White House quickly pushed back on the report. Communications Director Steven Cheung stated that Biden is a disgrace, and America is better off with him no longer as president. Cheung also said Joe Biden should have heeded the president’s wise words, but instead he tried to destroy this country and weaponize the justice system against his political enemies.
Trump penned an affectionate letter to his successor
Trump opened the note by calling the daily work of the Oval Office a blessing beyond imagination. He wrote that history resounds from every wall, every statue, every beautiful painting, and every corner of this magical place. Each staircase, hallway, and door, he continued, leads to yet another door and memory, another inflection point in the glorious story of America.
The letter urged Biden, who is currently battling cancer, to pause each day and consider the people who came before him, the titans who shaped the course of human events. Trump told Biden he now had the opportunity to choose his place in history and expressed confidence that Biden would be true to himself and the American people.
In one passage, Trump observed that many presidents have come and gone who simply governed as Republicans or Democrats. He added that, 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.
Trump also told Biden that he carries the hopes and dreams of the entire nation on his shoulders. The gravity of that fact never leaves you, it is the anchor that grounds every decision you make, the letter stated. Your strength, your deepest reservoir of energy, comes from the knowledge that millions upon millions of people are depending on you, Trump continued.
The note closed with the lines May God bless you and Jill, and may God bless America! followed by Trump’s first name. The contrast between that tone and the White House statement released after the book excerpt became public was immediate.
Publicly, however, Trump has repeatedly taken shots at Biden. He has criticized his emphasis on congressional oversight while boasting about bypassing it himself. Trump has also mocked Biden’s age and frequently refers to him as “Sleepy Joe Biden.”
Published: Nov 11, 2026 08:00 am