WASHINGTON — The most closely guarded secret of the 2021 presidential handover is a secret no longer. Joe Biden’s new memoir prints the full text of the private two-page letter Donald Trump left for him as he departed the White House — the “To 46” letter to Biden that the former president kept hidden for almost six years.

The revelation, first reported by The New York Times on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, is the latest disclosure from Promise Me, America, Biden’s 480-page memoir, published by Little, Brown and released on Tuesday, November 17. The Associated Press has reviewed a photocopy: the note, handwritten in Trump’s black Sharpie on White House stationery, is addressed simply “To ‘46’”.

Key Points

• Joe Biden’s memoir Promise Me, America prints the full text of Donald Trump’s private “To 46” letter for the first time.
• The two-page note, handwritten in Trump’s black Sharpie, was left when Trump departed in January 2021.
• Trump wrote that Biden “will be true to yourself and the American people” and praised his love of the country.
• Biden showed the letter to some staff after his inauguration but let no one read it, calling it “very generous”.
• The White House did not deny the letter’s authenticity, while attacking Biden’s record in office.

What Happened

For nearly six years, the contents of Trump’s farewell letter were one of Washington’s best-kept secrets. Biden told a handful of aides on inauguration day, January 20, 2021, that Trump had left him a note and called it “very generous” — but he never let anyone read it, and he never quoted from it in public. Trump himself said little, telling NBC’s Meet the Press in September 2023 that it was up to Biden whether to share it, calling it “a nice note” and adding: “I took a lot of time in thinking about it.”

Now the waiting is over. In Promise Me, America, Biden reproduces the letter in full, and the Times reported its contents on Tuesday. The Associated Press, which examined a photocopy, confirmed the note: two pages of Trump’s heavy black handwriting on official stationery, addressed to “46”.

Background: The Handover and Six Years of Silence

The letter was written at the end of one of the most bitter transfers of power in modern American history. Trump left the White House on the morning of January 20, 2021, without attending Biden’s inauguration, after months of disputing the 2020 election result. Yet he observed one tradition of the office: the outgoing president leaves a private note for his successor in the Oval Office.

Every modern president has done it. The letters are usually kept private for years, sometimes for decades, and their contents are often warmer than the public relationship between the two men would suggest. What made this one different was the silence around it. Biden’s refusal to share even a line turned it into a minor Washington mystery.

“To 46”: What Trump Wrote

The heart of the letter is Trump’s prediction about the kind of president Biden would be. “Many presidents have come and gone who simply governed as Republicans or Democrats,” he wrote. “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.”

He added, in the line Biden has now made public: Biden “will be true to yourself and the American people”. The tone is striking for its warmth. There is no trace of the insults that defined the 2020 campaign, and no hint of the rivalry that would dominate the next four years. In his memoir, Biden presents the letter as evidence of a private Trump very different from the public one — a man capable of generosity toward a rival. It is the same contrast drawn in the memoir’s first excerpt, in which Biden described Trump’s tone at their post-election meeting as bordering on “fawning”.

Reactions and Quotes

The White House did not dispute that the letter is genuine. Communications director Steven Cheung instead turned the disclosure back on Biden, calling the former president “a disgrace” who “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’s own framing is very different. On inauguration day he called the note “very generous”, and the memoir treats it as a moment of grace between two men who had just fought one of the ugliest campaigns in American history. He has never suggested the letter changed his view of Trump’s politics; the memoir’s other passages are unsparing, with Biden writing that Trump’s administration was determined to “tear down institutions and inflame hatreds”.

Why It Matters

Presidential letters matter because they are among the few honest artefacts of a transfer of power. They are written for one reader, with no audience to impress, and they tend to outlast the politics of the moment. Trump’s note is now part of that record, and it complicates the simple story of two men who only ever despised each other.

It also matters because of what it reveals about Biden. He kept the letter private for almost six years, through a presidency, a re-election campaign, a withdrawal from that campaign, and a cancer diagnosis. He chose to publish it only now, in the book that will stand as his own account of his time in office.

What Happens Next

Promise Me, America is published on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, and the full text will show how much of the book is given over to the Trump years and how Biden frames the letter alongside his harsher verdicts. For now, the letter stands alone: two pages, a black marker, and a prediction that Biden would be true to himself and to the American people.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the “To 46” letter?

It is the two-page handwritten note Donald Trump left for Joe Biden when he departed the White House in January 2021, addressed “To ‘46’”. Biden’s memoir prints its full text for the first time.

What did Trump write in the letter to Biden?

Trump wrote that Biden “will be true to yourself and the American people”, and that, unlike other presidents, he would not be “swept along in its relentless tide”, “because I know how much you love the American people”.

Why was the letter kept secret for so long?

Biden showed it to some staff but let no one read it, calling it “very generous”. Trump said in 2023 that it was up to Biden whether to share it.

When is Biden’s memoir published?

Promise Me, America is released on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, three days before Biden turns 84.

Has the White House denied the letter is real?

No. White House communications director Steven Cheung did not deny it, but called Biden “a disgrace”.

Related reading: Biden Says He Would Have Resigned as President Had He Known He Had Cancer • Biden Calls Claims He Hid His Cancer Diagnosis ‘Absurd’ in New Memoir Excerpt • Biden Memoir: Cancer Slows Book Tour as Excerpt Reveals Trump’s ‘Fawning’ Tone