Facts Matter: Biden didn't disclose what Trump wrote in presidential letter

Before leaving office on Jan. 20, 1989, President Ronald Reagan left a note for incoming President George H.W. Bush. It was written on stationery that featured an illustration of an elephant surrounded by turkeys with the caption, "Don't let the turkeys get you down."

Every president since has left a letter for his successor to find as they enter the Oval Office.

Although President Donald Trump on Wednesday left the White House before the inauguration of President Joe Biden began, the outgoing chief executive did leave a note for his successor.

But images of Trump's note circulating on social media are fake. The phony letter is topped with the presidential seal, dated "20th January 2021," and includes the message, "Joe, you know I won." Trump's signature is at the bottom.

The false note originated on a blog post that claimed, "I was sent this 5pm British time - And asked not to share for 1 hour."

This is not a letter from Trump, according to PolitiFact.com. The presidential seal at the top of the letter isn't the seal that has appeared on other letters from Trump. And in those letters, the month appeared before the date.

After the inauguration, Biden confirmed he had received a "very generous letter" from Trump, but declined to reveal the message.

"Because it was private, I won't talk about it until I talk to him," Biden said.

"It's a letter between 45 and 46," White House spokesman Judd Deere told USA Today.

Pelosi letter is fake

A fake letter supposedly written by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi showed up on social media shortly after videos showed rioters rooting through Pelosi's office during a Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol building in Washington.

The letter was purportedly written by Pelosi, telling Portland, Oregon, Mayor Ted Wheeler to "stick to the proven Democratic Play book" following August protests and riots in the city after the death of George Floyd.

"Go on Television and Condemn TRUMP and refuse any assistance! We CANNOT give TRUMP any victory before the election!!!!!" the fake letter read.

A spokesperson from Pelosi's office told The Associated Press the letter was fabricated. In addition to the bad grammar and informal language, there is a fake Pelosi signature.

A spokesperson from Wheeler's office told the AP the letter, which has been widely shared on Facebook, Twitter and Parler, is fake.

After 493 claims, still not the greatest

Before leaving office, President Donald Trump released a taped farewell address. The video included a variety of claims that have been debunked, according to The Washington Post.

Included was a false statement about building the "greatest economy," which the president repeated 493 times during his term, the Post said.

"We also built the greatest economy in the history of the world," Trump said during the speech. "Powered by these policies, we built the greatest economy in the history of the world."

But economic growth was stronger under presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton, the Post said.

The gross domestic product under Trump grew at a rate of 2.4%, 2.9% and 2.3% from 2017 to 2019. Under Clinton's watch, the GDP rose from 4.5% to 4.7%, under Johnson it rose to 6.6% in 1966, and was as high as 8% when Eisenhower took office.

The unemployment rate was as low as 3.5% under Trump but that is still not as low as it was in 1953 when it dropped to 2.5% under Eisenhower.

No Russian flag in display

President Joe Biden's Presidential Inaugural Committee, or PIC, installed an art display on the National Mall in Washington ahead of the inauguration.

The Field of Flags display, which featured nearly 200,000 flags including those from each state and U.S. territory, was created to "represent the American people who are unable to travel to Washington, DC, and reflect PIC's commitment to an inclusive and safe event that everyone can enjoy from their home," according to a news release from the committee.

Some social media users saw more in the colorful display. One Twitter user claimed it included the flag of the Russian Federation.

"I don't know if the Biden administration is aware of this. But this is the Russian flag. No joke," read the tweet, which included an emoji of the white, blue and red flag. Comments from other users agreed.

But the PIC did not display a Russian flag, according to Snopes.com. The flags, of various size and color, from a distance create a look of colorful stripes throughout the National Mall.

"The colors red, white, and blue aren't exclusive to one country's flag," Snopes said.

Other Twitter users who responded to the post pointed out the color combinations made up by the state flags could also resemble the French flag and the flag of the Netherlands.

• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.