President Obama pens personal thank you letter to the American people
President Barack Obama penned a letter on his last full day in office Thursday, thanking the American people for making him both a “better president” and a “better man.”
It’s a long-standing tradition for the sitting president of the United States to leave a parting letter in the Oval Office for the incoming president, Mr. Obama explained in the letter. Oftentimes, presidents give a thoughtful piece of advice, well-wishes or words of encouragement.
George H.W. Bush’s letter to Bill Clinton, for example, offered all three of those things. The former president sent a letter to his Democratic opponent after losing the 1992 election. This year, during a contentious election, the gracious handwritten letter, in which Bush said he was “rooting hard” for Clinton, went viral.
Mr. Obama said he, too, will leave a note for Donald Trump, who will officially become the 45th president of the United States on Friday.
“It’s a letter meant to share what we know, what we’ve learned, and what small wisdom may help our successor bear the great responsibility that comes with the highest office in our land, and the leadership of the free world,” Mr. Obama wrote.
But before he takes his final bow as president, Mr. Obama wanted to share a letter of his own to his “fellow Americans.”
You can read the letter, in its entirety, below:
The president also wrote these words on his official Facebook page, and the post was shared by nearly 25,000 people in an hour and received thousands of comments from Americans with thank you messages of their own.
“Thank you President Obama for reminding me that the future is bright, accepting and prosperous,” one Facebook user wrote.
“Thank you, President Obama, for your strength, courage, brilliance, eloquence, compassion, awe-inspiring hope, and sincerity. You have made us all incredibly proud, and we will miss you,” another commented.
Mr. Obama ended his letter with a message of togetherness: “The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We the People.’ ‘We shall overcome.’”
