Biden says Trump wrote him 'very generous letter'

WASHINGTON (AFP, BLOOMBERG) - US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday (Jan 20) that outgoing president Donald Trump had left him a "very generous" letter in the Oval Office, in keeping with tradition.

"The president wrote a very generous letter," Mr Biden told reporters at the White House.

"Because it's private, I will not talk about it until I talk to him," he said.

It was unclear until Wednesday whether Mr Trump would maintain the tradition of outgoing presidents leaving notes for their successors, after he opted to skip Mr Biden's inauguration and never formally congratulated him on his election win.

Mr Biden's remarks came after he signed three executive actions, including a requirement for face masks on federal property and a measure that would re-enter the US into the Paris Agreement on climate.

He was expected to sign further actions behind closed doors. The text of the orders and directives have not yet been released.

The signing was Mr Biden's first press availability in the Oval Office, where some decor from the previous administration has been replaced.

He sat at the Resolute Desk, the same desk Mr Trump, Mr Barack Obama and several other presidents have used.

Busts of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, whose careers inspired Mr Biden's work in public service, flanked the room's fireplace. On a table behind the desk sat pictures of Mr Biden's family and a bust of the labour leader Cesar Chavez.