The story so far
- Biden Says Trump Should Carry Jan. 6 Blame 'to His Grave'15 sources
- Biden Says Trump Praised His Presidency in Private Meeting4 sources
- Biden Memoir Reveals Trump's Farewell Letter to HimYou are hereLatest
Updated 8m ago · Politics
Biden Memoir Reveals Trump's Farewell Letter to Him
Former President Joe Biden has published the full text of the letter Donald Trump left him in 2021. It appears in Biden's forthcoming memoir.
- Jan. 20, 2021 is the letter's date, the day of Biden's inauguration.
- Trump wrote on White House stationery, in an envelope addressed to 46.
- The letter neither criticizes Biden nor challenges the election result.
- Biden called it very generous in 2021 but kept the contents private.
Why it matters: The letter's tone differs from Trump's public conduct then. He contested the 2020 result, and supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
- Trump still says the 2020 election was rigged, a claim courts and Congress did not uphold.
- Biden writes it felt as if there were "two Donald Trumps."
How 18 sources split on this story
Source landscape
Factuality
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Political Bias
Coverage by lean
18 sources · 20 articles · 45% Left coverage
Where they split: Coverage differs on emphasis: whether to center the contrast with Trump's challenge to the 2020 election or the White House's charge that Biden later targeted Trump through the courts.
Center coverage, 6 sources: The center presents the letter as a newly disclosed document, set against the record of the disputed transition.
CTV News5hNYT: Trump wished Biden well in newly disclosed 2021 letterNewsweek4hBiden Reveals Details of Trump’s ‘Very Generous’ 2021 Oval Office LetterPennLive3hBiden reveals surprising letter from Trump: ‘Like it was coming from an old friend’The Hill1hBiden’s book reveals ‘very generous letter’ from Trump during 2021 transitionTimes of Israel2h‘To 46’: Biden reveals Trump’s gracious pre-inauguration letter in new memoirUSA Today42mTrump wished Biden well in warm 2021 letter left inside White House desk
Left coverage, 8 sources: The left frames the letter as a private courtesy at odds with Trump's public effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Raw Story5hBiden memoir finally reveals what Trump wrote in his private Oval Office letterThe Boston Globe5hTrump told Biden in letter, ‘I know how much you love the American people’The New York Times5h'I Know How Much You Love the American People,' Trump Told Biden in 2021 Letter... 'Tone so friendly that I thought he might be putting me on'...Cleveland.com3hBiden reveals surprising letter from Trump: ‘Like it was coming from an old friend’CNN5hBiden reportedly reveals letter Trump wrote to him upon exiting White House in 2021 in forthcoming bookMediaite4hREAD IT: Trump Offers Shocking Tone in Letter to Biden Detailed in Former President’s BookMSNBC38mBiden’s new memoir reveals uncharacteristically kind letter from TrumpPolitical Wire6hTrump Left Biden Gracious Letter as He Left Office
Right coverage, 4 sources: The right highlights the letter as a gracious gesture from Trump and features the White House response faulting Biden.
The Daily Wire1dREAD IT: Trump’s Private Letter To Biden Finally RevealedConservative Treehouse5hTrump Letter to Biden Revealed in Joe Biden Book - The Last RefugeNew York Post3hTrump praised Biden in 'very generous' private letter upon exiting White House, ex-prez reveals in new memoirThe Gateway Pundit3hWOW: Joe Biden Reveals The “Very Generous” Letter President Trump Left for Him Upon Exiting the Oval Office in 2021 * The Gateway Pundit * by Cullen Linebarger
What’s next: The memoir is scheduled for release Nov. 17.
- White House spokesman Steven Cheung said Biden should have heeded the president's wise words. He accused Biden of trying to weaponize the justice system.
- Biden, 83, said cancer treatment will limit his book appearances.
- Has Trump commented personally on the letter's release?
- What else does the memoir disclose about the two men's private exchanges?
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