US President Joe Biden officially left office on January 20 and transferred power to his successor, also his predecessor, Donald Trump. Before leaving the White House in 2021, Mr. Trump left a letter of congratulations to Mr. Biden as is the tradition of American leaders, although he ignored other traditions such as not attending his successor’s inauguration.
Mr. Biden could become the first president to both receive and write a letter to the same person.
President Joe Biden may leave a letter for his successor and predecessor Donald Trump
Mr. Reagan initiated
The tradition of the US President writing a handwritten letter to his successor began under President Ronald Reagan, according to AP. After 8 years in office (1981-1989), Mr. Reagan wrote a letter of congratulation to his successor and deputy, Mr. George HW Bush (President Bush’s father).
“Dear George, there will come a time when you want to use this special stationery. Just do it, don’t be shy,” Mr. Reagan reminded Mr. Bush senior about writing a letter to his successor. In the letter, Mr. Reagan advised Mr. Bush not to let difficulties discourage him. “I will miss our Thursday lunches,” Mr. Reagan wrote and signed Ron.
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When he left office four years later, Mr. Bush also left a letter to Mr. Bill Clinton, wishing his successor happy moments in the White House and not to be discouraged by criticism. “Your success is now our country’s success. I very much support you,” Mr. Bush wrote.
This became a common practice in the following presidents: Mr. Clinton, Mr. George W. Bush (the younger Bush), Mr. Barack Obama, Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden.
Letters from US Presidents to their successors
Rare situation
Mr. Trump’s letter to Mr. Biden in 2021 has not been published. Some readers said it was a long handwritten letter and Mr. Biden expressed surprise at the politeness and generosity of the letter’s content despite the political conflict between the two.
Mr. Trump once said that it was a cute letter and that he took a lot of time to think about it. It is unclear whether Mr. Biden will write a letter to Mr. Trump, but researchers on American presidential tradition believe that Mr. Biden will continue this practice.
“This is a very rare situation, like many other things in modern Washington with Donald John Trump,” said Mr. Mark Updegrove, General Director of the LBJ Foundation (the legacy fund of the late President Lyndon B. Johnson), talking about Mr. Biden about to write a letter to the same person who left him a letter.
Mr. Trump is the second president in US history to serve two non-consecutive terms. The first person was Mr. Grover Cleveland, who worked from 1885-1889 and 1893-1897.
Matthew Costello, lead education officer at the White House Historical Association, said some outgoing presidents in the past also wrote handwritten letters to their successors, but not on inauguration day and not always. congratulation but to invite to dinner or to announce news. In February 1801, President John Adams wrote to President-elect Thomas Jefferson to inform him of his travel.
“To reduce the inconvenience and expense to you in purchasing horses and carriages, which are not necessary, I must inform you that I will leave behind the American stables of 7 horses and 2 bridle carriages belonging to the property. “They may not be suitable for you, but they will definitely save you a significant amount of money because they belong to the president’s family,” Mr. Adams wrote.
