Donald Trump is said to have written a letter full of praise to Joe Biden

Many presidents have come and gone and for the most part have not changed history, Trump is said to have written to Biden. "That won't happen to you, because I know how much you love the American people." The Democrat now has the opportunity to choose his place in history, Trump continued. “And I know that you will remain true to yourself and the American people.”

Biden had always spoken of a "very generous letter" that Trump had written to him - it is customary in the USA for the outgoing president to leave a message for his successor. However, Biden had so far remained silent about the content of the letter.

According to the "NYT", Trump addressed the letter dated January 20, 2021 "To 46", a reference to the fact that Biden was the 46th President of the United States. The benevolent tone in the letter is surprising: During the election campaign, the Republican certainly did not spare his criticism of Biden's policies and repeatedly attacked him personally.

He also refuses to publicly acknowledge Biden's 2020 election victory to this day. Two weeks before the handover to Biden, Trump's supporters violently stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. Even after Biden's term, Trump frequently criticized him and sometimes made disparaging comments about Biden's health.

Biden announced in May 2025 that he had prostate cancer (more on that here). According to previous information from his office, it is a more aggressive and advanced but treatable form of the disease. Most recently he had to curtail his PR tour for the new book.

The magazine “The Atlantic” had previously published an excerpt from Biden’s memoirs. In it he writes that days after the 2024 election he received the winner Trump in the Oval Office for a conversation. Trump surprised him with such a friendly tone that he thought Trump was kidding him. "It bordered on flattery." Trump told him: "You know, Joe, if it weren't for politics, we would definitely be good friends."

When he wanted to give the Republican an overview of global political issues, he noticed a pattern in Trump, Biden continues. This focused on the personalities of the heads of state and government, as if one were “gossiping” about other people at a party instead of talking about issues of global political importance.

The White House has now responded to Biden's reports. And the content is less surprising. "Joe Biden should have listened to the president's words of wisdom," said Steven Cheung, White House communications director. "But instead he tried to destroy this country and use the justice system as a weapon against his political opponents." Biden is "a disgrace." And: America would be better off without him as president.