Trump Reacts to Biden's Dismissal of Autopen Probe, Claims He Was Unaware of the Details
President Trump claims Biden was unaware of key issues during his presidency as Biden dismisses the autopen investigation.
Former President Donald Trump doubled down Thursday on his allegations that Joe Biden was not fully aware or in control during his term as president, reigniting controversy over the use of an autopen to sign presidential documents. Speaking from the Oval Office in a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump insisted that many of the Biden administration’s key policies represented a radical shift from Biden’s earlier positions and questioned whether Biden himself made those decisions.
“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 asserted, emphasizing what he described as a dramatic departure by Biden from his prior stances. “I said it during the debate and I say it now, he didn’t have much of an idea what was going on.”
The controversy centers on the alleged widespread use of an autopen—a device that mechanically replicates a signature—to sign legally binding presidential actions, including executive orders and pardons. Trump called this practice “so bad, and it’s so disrespectful to our country,” adding, “Essentially, whoever used the autopen was the president, and that is wrong. It’s illegal.”
The day prior, Trump issued a directive to the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi, calling for a probe into whether Biden’s aides intentionally concealed the president’s mental state by employing the autopen without his direct involvement. In his memo, Trump declared, “This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.”
President Biden, responding to these accusations late Wednesday, dismissed them as “ridiculous” and characterized the allegations as a political smear. “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Biden emphasized, accusing Trump and Republican lawmakers of using these claims to distract from their own legislative agenda. He warned that the opposition's focus lay in proposals that would "cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations."
Trump continued to press the issue Thursday, arguing that the use of autopens for official acts was a serious breach of protocol. “I sign important documents. Usually, when they put documents in front of you, they’re important... I think it’s inappropriate,” Trump said, adding that genuine signatures are a sign of respect for both the office and the recipients. He claimed he could distinguish between a real signature and one made by autopen, referencing “two little pinholes from pulling the paper.”
He explained that autopens are typically reserved for mass responses, such as letters to constituents, not for significant government decisions. “Autopen to me are used when thousands of letters come in from young people all over the country... That’s where autopens start and stop,” he said.
The increasing scrutiny over Biden’s use of autopen gained traction earlier this year following an investigation that revealed the same machine-produced signature appearing on a series of official documents. This sparked speculation that White House aides—not Biden himself—may have signed off on executive orders and high-profile pardons using the device, especially in light of noticeable discrepancies between Biden’s real signature and the one affixed by autopen on key documents.
The fallout from these revelations continues to fuel partisan debate in Washington, with Trump and his allies framing the controversy as evidence of a fundamental lack of transparency and accountability within the Biden administration. Meanwhile, Biden’s supporters argue that the use of autopen is longstanding, legal, and appropriate for managing the overwhelming workload of the presidency.
As investigations proceed and accusations mount, the issue has emerged as yet another flashpoint in the increasingly acrimonious U.S. political climate, with both sides mobilizing their arguments ahead of a contentious election season.
