--- title: George Bush's Gracious 1993 Letter to Bill Clinton: Read It description: “Your success is now our country’s success. I am rooting for you," George H.W. Bush wrote to incoming President Bill Clinton canonical: https://time.com/4538329/george-hw-bush-letter-bill-clinton-donald-trump/ author: Abigail Abrams article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-20T14:34:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T10:18:10.333Z article:section: Politics og:title: George H.W. Bush's 1993 Letter to Bill Clinton Shows How to Lose Gracefully og:description: The letter went viral after the third presidential debate og:url: https://time.com/4538329/george-hw-bush-letter-bill-clinton-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt147bc9a966fc836c/6988aac9cf40a85ed5c453be/george-hw-bush-bill-clinton-president-republican-democrat-transition-white-house.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: PGA TOUR - 2005 The Presidents Cup - Opening Ceremony og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: George H.W. Bush's 1993 Letter to Bill Clinton Shows How to Lose Gracefully twitter:description: The letter went viral after the third presidential debate twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt147bc9a966fc836c/6988aac9cf40a85ed5c453be/george-hw-bush-bill-clinton-president-republican-democrat-transition-white-house.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # George H.W. Bush's 1993 Letter to Bill Clinton Shows How to Lose Gracefully by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Oct 20, 2016 2:34 PM UTC  Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton during the opening ceremony of The Presidents Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Virginia on Sept. 22, 2005. Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton during the opening ceremony of The Presidents Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Virginia on Sept. 22, 2005.Hunter Martin—Getty Images by [Abigail Abrams](https://time.com/author/abigail-abrams/) ## Abigail Abrams Oct 20, 2016 2:34 PM UTC In a starkly partisan [presidential election](http://time.com/4538113/presidential-debate-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-lessons/) marked by harsh rhetoric, a 1993 letter from George H.W. Bush to Bill Clinton has resurfaced as an example of a more civil time. The letter, from Bush’s presidential library, shows the outgoing president respectfully welcoming Clinton to the White House. Hillary Clinton [posted the letter](https://www.instagram.com/p/BGpzuM6kPiB/) on her Instagram back in June, and it went viral once again on Twitter after Wednesday night’s presidential debate. > [](https://twitter.com/tomashbrooknpr/status/788764348357500928) The sentiments expressed in the letter took on additional weight after the debate, where Donald Trump was asked whether he would accept the results of the election in November. Trump [told the moderator](http://time.com/4538015/presidential-debate-donald-trump-election/?xid=homepage) Chris Wallace that he would wait to see the outcome. “I will look at it at the time,” Trump said, adding, “I will keep you in suspense.” In contrast, Bush, who lost to Clinton in the 1992 election, told his successor: “I wish you great happiness here.” “You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well,” the note says. “Your success is now our country’s success. I am rooting for you.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4538329/george-hw-bush-letter-bill-clinton-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4538329/george-hw-bush-letter-bill-clinton-donald-trump/"},"headline":"George H.W. 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