Biding Trump to his wishes, Reagan practiced gifting a hand penned note to his successor which triggered a new democracy cultural in America that still continues today. The note was meant to be a symbol of continuity that was established post the Reagan and the Gorbachev period.

However, the ex president of America Trump in so-called graciousness left a letter in the presidential office that contained his wishes for the new president which was filled with nothing but letters of cordiality that spoke volumes of the severed ties. During the previous presidential elections, there were bitter relations between him and Biden.

In what he deems to be a gracious move, Trump penned a cordial note for Biden previously. Now, Biden has in fact made note of the cordial relations that the two intend to engage in, despite what transpired in the last election of 2020.

Trump shared in an interview that he received a “nice note” from Biden, claiming that he “took a lot of time in thinking about it.” Reflecting further on his correspondence with Biden, Trump replied, “It was a good letter.”

This tradition was started by Ronald Reagan when he left a note for his successor (and friend) George H.W. Bush when leaving the office in 1989. After having served, Reagan said, “I will miss our Thursday lunches” which gave insight into the friendship which existed during Reagon’s era.

This custom has been adopted by each subsequent president, crossing party lines. Bush H.W. continued this custom in his letter to Bill Clinton, who in turn left his own note to George W. Bush. When Obama came to office, Bush gave him a letter, which, in turn, Obama gave to Donald Trump in 2016.

Biden’s letter will be the first written for a successor turned predecessor, marking a historic point in this tradition while also commemorating his hope of further valuing this tradition.

While the complete contents of Biden’s letter are to be kept unknown, it will bolster the message of hope that we will continue to overcome our American political divisions.