Trump Reacts to Biden's Dismissal of Autopen Probe, Claims He Was Unaware of Details
Trump asserts Biden was unaware of key issues during his presidency, as Biden dismisses the autopen investigation.
President Donald Trump intensified his criticism of former President Joe Biden on Thursday, asserting that Biden was not fully aware of key decisions made during his tenure in the White House. During a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, Trump questioned major shifts in Biden’s policy stances and cited the ongoing controversy over the use of an autopen—a device that reproduces signatures—to sign crucial presidential documents.
“He was never for open borders. He was never for transgender for everybody. He was never for men playing in women’s sports. I mean, he changed,” Trump stated. “All of these things that changed so radically. I don't think he had any idea...he didn't have much of an idea what was going on.” Trump argued that the use of an autopen amounted to abdication of presidential responsibility, stating, “Whoever used the autopen was the president, and that is wrong. It’s illegal. It’s so bad, and it’s so disrespectful to our country.”
On Wednesday, Trump sent a formal memo to the Department of Justice, instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch an investigation into whether aides within the Biden administration conspired to mask the president’s mental state and utilized the autopen to approve significant executive actions. Trump maintained this practice could be “one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history,” suggesting a coordinated effort to mislead the American people about who was truly making decisions at the highest level of government.
The controversy over the autopen comes as several of Biden’s late-term pardons and executive orders have come under heightened scrutiny. Trump and his allies argue that widespread use of the signature machine calls into question the legitimacy of those decisions. Trump emphasized, “I sign important documents. Usually, when they put documents in front of you, they’re important… I think it’s inappropriate,” adding that only genuine, pen-to-paper signatures should be used for official presidential actions.
Biden responded swiftly to the accusations, calling Trump’s memo and subsequent remarks “ridiculous” and “a distraction.” He denied suggestions that he wasn’t personally responsible for key decisions, stating, “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency… Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.” The former president accused Trump and Congressional Republicans of seeking to divert attention from efforts to pass what he described as “disastrous legislation” affecting healthcare and taxes.
Trump continued to rail against what he termed “the biggest political scandals in U.S. history,” maintaining that autopens are properly reserved for correspondence, such as responses to citizens’ letters, rather than official acts like ambassador appointments or executive orders. “It’s very disrespectful to people when they get an autopen signature,” Trump said, highlighting how he can detect the use of the device by characteristic “two little pinholes from pulling the paper.”
The debate over autopen usage further escalated after independent investigations found consistent machine-produced signatures on a range of executive documents reportedly signed by Biden, while his handwritten signature appeared different on other correspondence. These findings have fueled speculation among critics that aides, rather than the president himself, authorized significant decisions, deepening questions around transparency and executive authority.
With both Trump and Biden trading barbs and defending their respective records, the controversy over autopen signatures is likely to remain a flashpoint in national political debate, raising fundamental questions about how presidential power is exercised and safeguarded in modern American governance.
