Passing on the baton. President Donald Trump opened up about the letter that Barack Obama gave him during his first TV interview as commander in chief, which aired on Wednesday, January 25. Watch the video above.
Obama, 55, left the note in the Oval Office, as each president customarily does for his successor. Trump received it following his inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Friday, January 20.
“This was the letter given to me by President Obama. I won’t show it to you or read it to you, but a — just a, a beautiful letter,” Trump, 70, told ABC News‘ David Muir on Wednesday. “It was long, it was complex, it was thoughtful, and it took time to do it.”
The former Celebrity Apprentice host added that it was very “well written” and that he contacted Obama after reading it. “I doubt too many of them were written in this manner,” he said. “He really — in fact, I called him and thanked him for the thought that was put into that letter.”
Trump didn’t disclose too many details, but did say that Obama touched on Obamacare. Trump promised during the campaign trail that he would get rid of Obamacare, but has yet to state what he would replace it with. On Friday, he signed an executive order to begin to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
“[He] said something that was very interesting to me. He said, ‘You know, if I thought your healthcare plan was going to be better than his plan, Obamacare, then I would support it,’ and I believe he would,” Trump told Muir. “Nothing that surprised me, but it was stated beautifully but that I’m representing a lot of people and I’m carrying on a very important tradition, and just do a great job. He wants me to do a great job.”
Last week, Trump said during a January 22 meeting with his senior staff members that he will “cherish” the letter. “We will keep that and we won’t even tell the press what’s in that letter,” he said, according to The Hill.
