Donald Trump broke a lot of presidential traditions in the aftermath of his election loss to Joe Biden.
He never conceded the election, failed to invite Biden for a post-election meeting and fled Washington without attending his successor’s inauguration.
But Trump did follow one tradition on the way out of the White House on Wednesday: He left a note for Biden on the Resolute Desk of the Oval Office.
Nothing about the message is known. Judd Deere, deputy press secretary for the outgoing administration, declined to reveal to The Associated Press what Trump wrote or characterize the tone, claiming the communication between presidents is private.
Notes left by presidents eventually reach the National Archives and are made public. Previous presidents have tended to offer encouragement to their successors. In 2017, Trump vowed to cherish what he called a “beautiful letter” from Barack Obama.
However, considering Trump’s repeated insults of Biden and his refusal to even mention the new president’s name during his two farewell addresses, many people on Twitter speculated what the defeated president might have written.
One person held out faint hope that the note might have contained the bare minimum of cordiality.
But one person pointed out that whatever Trump wrote in the note was a minor concern.
Before You Go
