President Donald Trump Praised Joe Biden’s ‘Strength’ and ‘Energy’ in Letter After 2020 Election Loss

There wasn’t always bad blood between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

In an excerpt from the 83-year-old former president’s upcoming memoir, Promise Me, America, obtained by The New York Times on Tuesday, November 10, Biden shared the letter Trump, 80, reportedly wrote to him after losing the 2020 election.

“Coming to work every day in the Oval Office is a blessing beyond imagination,” Trump wrote to the incoming commander in chief at the time. “History resounds from every wall, every statue, every beautiful painting and every corner of this magical place. Each staircase, hallway and door leads to yet another door and memory, another inflection point in the glorious story of America.”

The Times, which reviewed a photocopy of the original letter, dated January 20, 2021, was left in an envelope addressed “To ’46,'” referencing Biden’s spot as the 46th U.S. president.

The outlet notes that the letter, which was written on White House stationery, was penned using Trump’s signature black Sharpie.

“I hope you take a moment every single day to take stock of where you are and the people who came before you, the titans who shaped the course of human events,” Trump continued. “You now have the opportunity to choose your place in history, and I know you will be true to yourself and the American people.”

He also took time to praise Biden’s might and vigor as a leader — a far cry from the “sleepy Joe” nickname Trump’s given him in recent years.

“I know how much you love the American people. Your strength, your deepest reservoir of energy, comes from the knowledge that millions upon millions of people are depending on you,” Trump concluded. “Their ambitions and aspirations are the reason you are here, with so many counting on your success. May God bless you and [wife] Jill [Biden], and may God bless America!”

Despite the friendly tone taken in the letter, Trump was anything but civil following the election, inciting an insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, two weeks before the letter’s date, and challenging Biden’s win, claiming the election was rigged.

In response to the excerpt, the White House released a statement on Tuesday criticizing Biden’s performance in Washington, D.C., calling the former politician “a disgrace.”

“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,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told the Times. “… America is better off with him no longer as president.”

Elsewhere in the excerpt, Biden said the letter had him believing “there were two Donald Trumps” as he seemed professional one minute but was back to slinging vile insults the next.

Reflecting on The Apprentice host’s first term and what was supposed to be a peaceful transition of power, Biden said Trump “deeply destabilized our democracy” and had “not offered the traditional meeting between presidents.”

“But here he was, offering his best wishes in warm language that sounded like it was coming from an old friend,” Biden wrote, per the Times.

Promise Me, America is available everywhere books are sold on Tuesday, November 17.