Bam’s gracious note to Don: Keep U.S. strong

FORMER PRESIDENT Barack Obama left a handwritten letter in the drawer of a desk in the Oval Office, congratulating his successor Donald Trump on a “remarkable run” and urging him to safeguard democratic institutions and American global leadership.

The White House missive, left on Inauguration Day, was the last direct communication between the two Presidents, according to CNN, which obtained a copy of the letter.

“Congratulations on a remarkable run. Millions have placed their hopes in you, and all of us, regardless of party, should hope for expanded prosperity and security during your tenure,” Obama wrote.

Trump has previously described the letter as thoughtful and has shown it to White House visitors.

In the letter of nearly 300 words, Obama told Trump that the two of them have “both been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune.”

“Not everyone is so lucky,” he wrote. “It’s up to us to do everything we can (to) build more ladders of success for every child and family that’s willing to work hard.”

He also told the new President that American leadership in the world is “indispensable.”

“We are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions — like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties — that our forebears fought and bled for,” Obama wrote. “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.”

Trump called Obama when he read the letter to express his gratitude.

“It was long. It was complex. It was thoughtful,” Trump told ABC News about the letter in January, without revealing its context.