Former president left letter for Trump in which he urged his successor to uphold the rule of law and separation of powers
Dear Mr President
Barack Obama warned Donald Trump to uphold the rule of law and not undermine the “international order” in a newly revealed letter from the 44th US president to his successor.
The former president gave Trump three key pieces of advice in a letter he left in the Oval Office when he departed the White House. The letter was published on Sunday by CNN.
“We’ve both been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune,” Obama told his successor. “Not everyone is so lucky. It’s up to us to do everything we can [to] build more ladders of success for every child and family that’s willing to work hard.”
Turning to international relations, Obama told Trump, who had embraced isolationism throughout his campaign: “American leadership in this world really is indispensable.”
He added: “It’s up to us, through action and example, to sustain the international order that’s expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend.”
Thirdly, Obama urged his successor to protect “those democratic institutions and traditions – like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties – that our forebears fought and bled for”.
“Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it’s up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them,” Obama wrote in the letter.
In January, Trump called the letter “beautiful” and said he would cherish it, adding: “We won’t even tell the press what’s in that letter.”
The relationship between the two presidents has grown increasingly fractious after an initial attempt to build bridges on both sides quickly collapsed.
Obama invited his successor to the White House a few days after the election, telling Trump: “We now are going to do everything we can to help you succeed, because if you succeed, then the country succeeds.”
Trump, who seemed somewhat daunted at the meeting, said he had “great respect” for the president he had excoriated on the campaign trail, and called Obama a “very good man”.
“The conversations have been cordial,” Obama said in January, following news the two had had a handful of phone calls. “He has been open to suggestions, and the main thing that I’ve tried to transmit is that there’s a difference between governing and campaigning.”
When the New Yorker’s David Remnick asked Obama how that White House meeting with Trump had gone, however, the former president “smiled thinly, and said, ‘I think I can’t characterise it without...’ Then he stopped himself and said that he would tell me ‘at some point over a beer – off the record’.”
Within days of Trump’s inauguration, Obama had broken his silence to criticise his successor for the first time, with a spokesman responding to Trump’s first attempt at a travel ban by saying: “The president [Obama] fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion.”
Their relationship was strained further when Trump claimed in March that Obama had been tapping his phones during the election campaign. The president has never offered any evidence for the tweeted claim, and this week his own Justice Department stated in a court filing that its national security division and the FBI “confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps as described by the March 4, 2017 tweets”.
More recently, Obama responded to Trump’s heavily criticised remarks equating neo-Nazis with the protesters opposing them in Charlottesville, Virginia, with a series of tweets quoting Nelson Mandela. “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion,” the former president posted.
By contrast, Trump continues to use social media to needle his predecessor, last month retweeting an allegedly antisemitic supporter’s set of images entitled “The best eclipse ever!” which showed Trump’s face gradually obscuring that of Obama.
The letter from Obama is not the only clue we have about advice he has given his successor. The New York Times reported in March that Obama had told Trump that North Korea would be the biggest challenge he would face – something that seems all the more prescient following this weekend’s apparent test of a powerful hydrogen bomb that can be loaded on to an intercontinental ballistic missile.
It is something of a tradition for a departing president to leave a missive for the person taking over from him.
George W Bush’s letter to Obama was addressed: “To #44, from #43.” George Bush Sr’s wished Bill Clinton well, and it went viral during last year’s election campaign. “Your success now is our country’s success,” Bush wrote. “I am rooting hard for you.”
Ronald Reagan simply told his former vice-president Bush: “Don’t let the turkeys get you down.”
Obama’s letter to Trump in full
Dear Mr President
Congratulations on a remarkable run. Millions have placed their hopes in you, and all of us, regardless of party, should hope for expanded prosperity and security during your tenure.
This is a unique office, without a clear blueprint for success, so I don’t know that any advice from me will be particularly helpful. Still, let me offer a few reflections from the past 8 years.
First, we’ve both been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune. Not everyone is so lucky. It’s up to us to do everything we can [to] build more ladders of success for every child and family that’s willing to work hard.
Second, American leadership in this world really is indispensable. It’s up to us, through action and example, to sustain the international order that’s expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend.
Third, we are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions -- like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties -- that our forebears fought and bled for. Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it’s up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.
And finally, take time, in the rush of events and responsibilities, for friends and family. They’ll get you through the inevitable rough patches.
Michelle and I wish you and Melania the very best as you embark on this great adventure, and know that we stand ready to help in any ways which we can.
Good luck and Godspeed,
BO
