A ‘generous’ letter from Donald to dear Joe

US President Joe Biden has said his predecessor Donald Trump has left him a "very generous" letter in the Oval Office before departing the White House.

It is customary for outgoing presidents to write their successors a letter and leave it for them on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

However, given that the former president broke several of the past traditions, including by opting to skip Biden's inauguration ceremony and never formally congratulated him on his election win, it was unclear until Wednesday whether Trump would maintain the tradition of outgoing presidents leaving notes for their successors.

"The President wrote a very generous letter. Because it was private, I will not talk about it until I talk to him. But it was generous," Biden told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday.

"It was both generous and gracious, and it was just a reflection of him not planning to release the letter unilaterally, but I wouldn't take it as an indication of a pending call with the former president," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.