Opinion

If Trump wrote that letter to Biden …

by Christopher Borrelli

A peaceful transition of power.

What a nice set of words to describe what was once a fair assumption. The sky is blue, the sun will set and the White House changes occupants on Inauguration Day with grace and humility. Indeed, for three decades now, as a capstone to that calm, there’s a lovely gesture, a letter of encouragement, written by the outgoing president to the incoming president and left inside the new president’s desk. Ronald Reagan started the tradition. He left a note for George H.W. Bush, who left a note for Bill Clinton, who left one for George W. Bush, who wrote to Barack Obama, who left a note for Donald Trump, who — OK, can we all assume Trump will not follow tradition?

Oddly, we cannot.

Four years ago, just after inauguration, Trump praised Obama’s outgoing letter of support and congratulations. He called it “beautiful” and carried it on himself, pulling it from its envelope to show friends and reporters, as if it were a certification of authenticity for a surprise presidency. Of course, things are different now. Four years, two impeachments and one insurrection later, Trump might feel less inclined to leave a similar note for the man whom he insists stole his job.

If he does write a letter, I hope it reads something like:

Dear Joe,

When I walked into this office just now I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. (1) From this day you are President of all of us. The burdens you now shoulder are great but often exaggerated. The sheer joy of doing what you believe is right is inexpressible. (2) We are just temporary occupants. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions — like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties — that our forefathers fought and bled for. (3) There will be trying moments. The critics will rage. But, you will have Almighty God to comfort you, a family who loves you, and a country that is pulling for you, including me. (4) Take time, in the rush of events and responsibilities, for friends and family. They’ll get you through the inevitable rough patches. (3) You embark on the greatest venture that can come to an American citizen. (2) Very few have had the honor of knowing the responsibility you now feel. (4) Your success is our country’s success. (1)

You’ll be in my prayers, (5)

Donald

Safe to say, if Trump writes a letter to Joe Biden, it won’t read like that.

Actually, it can’t. I edited that letter together using actual lines from the past five Inauguration Day letters; those numbers are annotations. What’s remarkable is how each of these letters mirrors the president who wrote it. George H.W. Bush’s letter (1), the most gentle, carries the melancholy air of a career civil servant. Clinton’s letter (2) smelled of prosperity and glibness. George W.’s letter (4) was punchy and strangely sweet. Ronald Reagan’s letter (5) was written on a notepad illustrated by children’s book author Sandra Boynton (and headlined “Don’t Let the Turkeys Get You Down”). Obama’s letter (3), the most pointed, asks Trump to maintain a post-Cold War order, notes both men were blessed “in different ways, with great good fortune,” and so let’s leave these “instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.”

The formal Inauguration Day letter is a warmer pat on the back, with a consistent message: This job is not about you or me. Each letter offers a hard-won insight, and the sense that an outgoing president learned something about public office and his place in history. Each is also a reminder that, even recently, politics was never a zero-sum blood sport — the good wishes always read as sincere. 

Trump, needless to say, is no fan of tradition.

Still, let’s split the difference and assume, if he writes Biden an Inauguration Day letter, he’ll do it in a distinctly Donald voice. As with the letter above, this letter was also pieced together using actual quotations — from Donald Trump:

Joe,

I ran because of you. I ran because of Barack Obama. Because you did a poor job. If I thought you did a good job, I would have never run. I’m also honored to have the greatest temperament that anybody has. What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening: This was unprecedented in American history. This was by design. Democrat officials never believed they could win this election honestly. We’re like a third world country. There’s fraud all over the place. People have come up to me: “How do you take it?” I say, “Do I have a choice?”

The one thing I would say — and I say this to people — I never realized how big it was: This is thousands of times bigger, the United States, than the biggest company in the world. Nobody knew health care could be so complicated. But they always blame a President.

This is a very tough environment not caused necessarily by me. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again.

I concede NOTHING.

Donald

Christopher Borrelli is a features reporter/columnist for the Chicago Tribune.