The tradition started with a cartoon elephant and some turkeys. On Jan. 20, 1989, before leaving the Oval Office for the last time, Ronald Reagan put pen to paper with some advice for his vice president and successor, George H.W. Bush. “You’ll have moments when you want to use this particular stationery,” Reagan wrote on a notepad illustrated by children’s book author Sandra Boynton. The caption? “Don’t let the turkeys get you down.” As with so many elements of political life in the United States, Reagan’s influence is still felt, as U.S. presidents continue to leave their successors handwritten missives. Most recently, Joe Biden described Donald Trump’s as “shockingly gracious.”
Whether Biden returns the favor next January or will be writing to his own deputy Kamala Harris is beyond the ken of FP’s editors. Instead, we asked nine thinkers from around the world what they would say in a letter to the next U.S. president. Whichever candidate is victorious in November’s presidential election, he or she will face long-term challenges stemming from a shifting world order in which the United States is no longer the sole hegemon. With its international role very much up for debate, and the ramifications of that debate far-reaching, some of our contributors chose to address Americans directly. These letter writers would likely disagree with some of each other’s advice, but we hope the next president heeds it all. There are no turkeys here—not until Thanksgiving, anyway.
Catherine Ashton is a distinguished fellow at the Wilson Center and former European Union high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.
Jason Bordoff is a columnist at Foreign Policy, a co-founding dean at the Columbia Climate School, the founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, a professor of professional practice in international and public affairs, and a former senior director on the staff of the U.S. National Security Council and special assistant to former U.S. President Barack Obama. X: @JasonBordoff
Arancha González is the dean of Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs and a former Spanish foreign minister.
Martin Kimani is the executive director of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University and a former Kenyan ambassador to the United Nations.
Mark Malloch-Brown is a former deputy secretary-general of the United Nations. X: @malloch_brown
Joseph S. Nye Jr. is a distinguished service professor emeritus of Harvard University and the author of, most recently, A Life in the American Century. X: @Joe_Nye
Danny Quah is the Li Ka Shing professor in economics and dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. X: @DannyQuah
Nirupama Rao is a former Indian foreign secretary and ambassador to the United States and to China.
Joseph E. Stiglitz is a Nobel laureate in economics and a professor at Columbia University. X: @JosephEStiglitz
