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Former President Joe Biden revealed in his upcoming memoir “Promise Me, America” that President Donald Trump left him an unexpectedly friendly letter in January 2021 before Biden entered office after defeating Trump in the 2020 election, according to a report published Tuesday.
According to an excerpt obtained by The New York Times, Biden reprinted the letter in full in his upcoming book, which is scheduled for release next week. In it, Biden wrote that it seemed “as if there were two Donald Trumps.”
He contrasted the public-facing Trump who “deeply destabilized our democracy” and had “not offered the traditional meeting between presidents” with the one who in the letter was “offering his best wishes in warm language that sounded like it was coming from an old friend.”
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President Biden said that it almost seems as if there have been two versions of President Donald Trump. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“You now have the opportunity to choose your place in history, and I know you will be true to yourself and the American people,” Trump wrote in the letter, according to Biden. “Many presidents have come and gone who simply governed as Republicans or Democrats. Largely, they did not change history, they were just swept along in its relentless tide. This will not happen to you because 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. Their ambitions and aspirations are the reason you are here, with so many counting on your success,” he added further, “May God bless you and Jill, and may God bless America!”
The Atlantic also highlighted a passage from the book recounting Biden’s customary 2024 White House meeting with Trump. Biden noted that the incoming president once again displayed a warm side, writing: “Trump was immediately chatty and surprised me by adopting a tone so friendly that I thought he might be putting me on. It bordered on fawning.”
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U.S. President Joe Biden meets with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 13, 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“You know, Joe, if it weren’t for politics, I believe we’d be good friends,” Trump told him, according to The Atlantic report. “Yes, if it weren’t for politics, we’d spend all our time golfing together.”
Biden’s friendly reception of Trump during the meeting also drew attention. Biden repeatedly argued while he was still running that Trump was “a threat to democracy.”
Radio host Charlamagne Tha God questioned Biden’s reception of Trump on his radio show at the time.
“I just don’t understand the White House visit. Now granted, you know, I’m glad it’s a peaceful transition of power, but what happened to the ‘threat of democracy’ talk? What happened to the ‘fascist’ talk?” Charlamagne asked. “By the way, I know I’ve said those things about Trump as well, but I’m not talking about me, I’m talking about his political opponents, like President Biden. When they say it, it holds way more weight than me.”
“I’m just trying to figure out, how do you go from ‘He’s an existential threat to democracy’ to ‘Welcome back!’” he continued.
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Radio host Charlamagne Tha God said he was baffled by Biden talking about Trump as a threat to democracy and then warmly greeting him at the White House. (Derek White/Getty Images for iHeartMedia and The Black Effect Podcast Network)
White House communications director Steven Cheung responded to Biden’s comments in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“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. Biden is a disgrace, and America is better off with him no longer as president,” Cheung said.
Theo Wold, a former White House deputy assistant for domestic policy during Trump’s first term, also spoke to Fox News Digital about the report.
“This is another example of the ‘when-they-go-low-we-go-high’ people doing exactly the opposite. President Trump left a magnanimous letter to Biden, impressing upon him the weight of the job and the responsibility every president bears to the American people. And Biden uses it only to tear down Trump, suggesting insincerity,” Wold said.
“No. Democrats — including the team of leftist ghostwriters that penned this book for Biden — want to hate Trump, and so they will, regardless of any evidence showing their hatred is unfounded.”
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President Donald Trump, like Biden, has also been witness to a referendum against his administration’s policies. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.