WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden said his predecessor, Donald Trump, left him a “very generous letter” before leaving Washington before his inauguration on Wednesday.
Biden told reporters on Oval room: “The president wrote a very generous letter. Because it was private, I’m not going to talk about it until I talk to him. ”
The statements came after Biden signed three executive actions, including the requirement for face masks on federal properties and a measure that would reintegrate the United States into the Paris climate agreement.
The signature was Biden’s first press release in the Oval Office, where some decorations from the previous administration were replaced. He sat at the Resolute table, the same table as Trump, Barack Obama and several other presidents used it. Busts by Martin Luther King Jr and Robert F Kennedy, whose careers inspired Biden’s public service work, flanked the living room fireplace.
On a table behind the desk, there were pictures of Biden’s family and a bust of union leader Cesar Chávez.
Trump left Washington on Wednesday and arrived at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, before Biden was sworn in to replace him at the White House.
After signing the shares, Biden took an oath to about 1,000 political nominees in the White House and federal agencies, who participated via videoconference in the East Room.
“We have to restore the soul of this country and I count on you all,” he said. “We have reached a point, in my opinion, when the American people – sales have been withdrawn.”
He said the government’s coronavirus vaccination program would be “the most important logistical thing that has ever been done in the United States” and that his government “can face this existential threat from climate change”.
But he also admonished his appointees to lead with “a central American value: humility and trust”.
“If you work with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, speak softly to someone, I will fire you on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts, ”said Biden. “Everyone has the right to be treated with decency and dignity. This has been missing a lot in the past four years. ”
In response to a question from a reporter, Biden said he is not concerned with confirming his nominees for the cabinet. The Senate has yet to fill any of its cabinet posts.
