Trump Reveals Contents of Biden’s Letter in Resolute Desk

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump provided Fox News with exclusive details regarding the letter left for him by former President Joe Biden as he exited the White House earlier this week.
Addressed to "Dear President Trump," the letter was found inside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office with assistance from Fox News Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy.
According to Fox News, the letter read: "As I take leave of this sacred office I wish you and your family all the best in the next four years. The American people – and people around the world – look to this house for steadiness in the inevitable storms of history, and my prayer is that in the coming years will be a time of prosperity, peace, and grace for our nation. May God bless you and guide you as He has blessed and guided our beloved country since our founding."
Signed "Joe Biden" and dated Jan. 20, 2025, the letter continues a long-standing tradition in which departing U.S. presidents leave a private note for their successors.
Trump seemed to have overlooked Biden’s letter until Fox News Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy reminded him during a press conference on Monday night while Trump was signing numerous executive orders in the Oval Office.
“President Trump, did President Biden leave you a letter?” Doocy inquired among a group of reporters observing Trump’s executive actions.
“Can you read anything on the outside?” Doocy pressed further, prompting Trump to joke, “Maybe we should all read it together. Well, maybe I’ll read it first and then make that determination.”
Meanwhile, President Trump strongly criticized former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Monday after she was granted a last-minute pardon by former President Joe Biden.
While in the Oval Office signing executive orders, Trump fielded questions from reporters on various major issues. Trump also issued approximately 1,500 pardons and commuted 14 sentences related to the events of January 6, 2021.
“I was going to talk about the J6 hostages, but you’ll be happy because, you know, it’s action, not words that count, and you’re going to see a lot of action on the J6 hostages,” Trump stated.
He continued, “I was going to talk about the things that Joe did today with the pardons of people that were very, very guilty of very bad crimes, like the unselect committee of political folks,” in reference to the January 6 panel.
In the final hours of his presidency, Joe Biden issued a series of historic preemptive pardons, including for former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, members of the House January 6 committee, and others.
“Why are we doing this? Why are we trying to help a guy like Milley? Why are we helping Liz Cheney?” Trump asked. “I mean, Liz Cheney is a disaster. She’s a crying lunatic and crying, crying.”
Republican figures contended that the pardons were an implicit admission of wrongdoing and further demonstrated corruption within the investigation.
“Proves they know she’s guilty,” said Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) regarding Cheney, one of several officials to receive a pardon from Biden before he left office Monday morning.
“Joe Biden’s last-minute pardons of the January 6th sham committee members will forever seal the negative legacy of the Biden administration, which will be one of corruption, pay-to-play schemes, and the overall total sellout of our ‘American principles,’” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) remarked to the Daily Beast.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), who spearheaded the GOP’s counter-investigation into the January 6 committee, asserted that the Monday morning pardons were a “direct result of our investigation.”
Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) echoed similar concerns, highlighting what he described as the “unlawful, deceitful, and corrupt” nature of those who had been pardoned.
“Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy. Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties,” Biden wrote.
“In certain cases, some have even been threatened with criminal prosecutions, including General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, and the members and staff of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions,” he added.
Biden further defended Milley, stating, “General Milley served our nation for more than 40 years, serving in multiple command and leadership posts and deploying to some of the most dangerous parts of the world to protect and defend democracy. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he guided our Armed Forces through complex global security threats and strengthened our existing alliances while forging new ones.”