After spending months disputing the results of an election he lost—and never publicly congratulating the new president—Donald Trumpreportedly left a note forJoe Bidenbefore 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 anddeparting for West Palm BeachWednesday morning. The spokesman did not disclose the contents of Trump’s note, which follows atradition 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.”
The former president then boarded Air Force One for the final time en route to his Florida resort.
CNN reported that former First LadyMelania Trumpalsoleft a “short note of welcome"for Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden.
Earlier this month, Trump took to Twitter to confirm that he would not be attending his successor’s swearing-in, abreak with history and tradition.
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” Trump wrote.
That announcement came amid aturbulent transfer of powerin which Trump attempted to overthrow the results of the election through lawsuits in several states around the country.
Even after those attempts failed, Trump continued to make unfounded election claims eventually inciting a mob of his supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College results naming Biden the 2020 winner.
It wasn’t until the following day, Jan. 7, after the insurrection was quelled and Congress finished its business certifying Biden’s election, that Trumppublicly conceded, pleading an “orderly transition of power” but stopping short of congratulating Biden.
While Trump refused to partake in the American tradition of attending his successor’s swearing-in—long a powerful symbol of democracy’s peaceful transition of power—the outgoing vice presidentMike Penceand other leading Republicans including Sen. Mitch McConnell did attend.
In his last hours in office, Pence (who reports suggest has soured on Trump since the violence of Trump supporters at the Capitol) skipped Trump’s Wednesday morning send-off to attend instead the inauguration of Biden and Harris.
Along with Pence and his wife, Karen, former First LadiesMichelle Obama,Hillary ClintonandLaura Bush(each sporting some shade of bipartisan purple) were all in attendance, as were former PresidentsBarack Obama,Bill ClintonandGeorge W. Bush.
Wednesday’s inaugural events took place under unprecedented circumstances, amid aglobal pandemicand in the wake of thedeadly attack on the Capitol.
The Secret Service, Capitol Police and Pentagon coordinated an extraordinary level of security for Biden’s Inauguration Day, with eight-foot tall fences surrounding the U.S. Capitol and thousands of National Guard troops stationed around Washington D.C.
source: people.com
