It's a new day in America, says Biden as Trump leaves letter for him

Mr Joe Biden tweeted that it was a new day in America as President Donald Trump flew out of Washington. PHOTO: AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Mr Joe Biden said it was "a new day in America" on Wednesday (Jan 20) as he prepared to become the 46th president of the United States at an inauguration ceremony in Washington.

"It's a new day in America," Mr Biden said on Twitter only minutes after outgoing President Donald Trump flew out of Washington at the end of a tumultuous four-year presidency.

Mr Trump left a letter to his successor before leaving the White House, spokesman Judd Deere told AFP minutes after the outgoing president's departure.

Mr Trump, who refused to accept his defeat for more than two months, never congratulated Mr Biden on his victory.

"We are just temporary occupants of this office," Mr Barack Obama wrote in his own note to Mr Trump four years ago, left in the Oval Office in line with presidential tradition.

"That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions... 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."

The letter touted as one of the classiest left by a president was written by Republican George H.W. Bush to Mr Bill Clinton, who had made Mr Bush a one-term president after defeating him in the 1992 election.

The letter, which Mr Bush left as he departed the White House in 1993, recalled his "sense of wonder and respect" as he walked into the Oval Office four years earlier.

"There will be very tough times... just don't let the critics discourage you or push you off course," Mr Bush wrote.

"You will be our president when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well. Your success now is our country's success. I am rooting hard for you. Good luck," he told his opponent.

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