After spending months disputing the results of an election he lost—and never publicly congratulating the new president—Donald Trump reportedly left a note for Joe Biden before departing the White House Wednesday morning.
Trump spokesperson Judd Deere confirmed Wednesday that Trump, 74, left the letter for Biden, 78, in the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk before vacating the White House and departing for West Palm Beach Wednesday morning.
The spokesman did not disclose the contents of Trump’s note, which follows a tradition dating to President Reagan’s handoff to George H.W. Bush in 1989.
Reagan left his then-vice president a cartoon drawing of a cartoon elephant covered in turkeys, captioning it, “Don’t let the turkeys get you down.”
Signing executive orders in the Oval Office after being sworn in Wednesday, Biden also confirmed that Trump had left him a note, telling reporters: “The president wrote a very generous letter. Because it was private, I will not talk about it until I talk to him. But, uh, it was generous.”
In departure remarks to his supporters, Trump did not mention Biden by name on Wednesday, instead focusing on his administration’s achievements before telling a crowd including most of his children: “Have a good life. We will see you soon.”
The former president then boarded Air Force One for the final time en route to his Florida resort.
CNN reported that former First Lady Melania Trump also left a “short note of welcome” for Biden’s wife, Dr Jill Biden.
