Trump Sparks Firestorm Over Biden's Mental State
President Joe Biden walks to the Oval Office with President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 13, 2024. Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz. Public domain.
It started with a signature — or rather, a machine-generated one. On June 4, former President Donald Trump launched a full-scale investigation into whether Joe Biden's aides used an autopen to conceal signs of mental decline during his presidency. But beyond the ink on paper lies a deeper political battle over legitimacy, perception, and power.
The Investigation: A Presidential Order
Trump signed a presidential memorandum instructing White House Counsel David Warrington and Attorney General Pam Bondi to probe what he described as a "conspiracy" to deceive the public about Biden's mental fitness. The heart of the claim? Allegedly, Biden's staff routinely used an autopen — a device that replicates a person's signature — to endorse executive orders, proclamations, and pardons during his time in office.
While autopens have been used for decades by presidents of both parties — including Trump — this case is different, Trump argues, because he claims Biden's aides used it to mask a president who was no longer calling the shots.
"This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history," Trump said in a statement reported by the BBC.
The Push for Testimony
This isn't just about gadgets and signatures. A Republican-led House panel is now seeking testimony from Biden's closest aides, including his first chief of staff, to determine who was truly making decisions in the White House.
The timing is strategic. Trump's inquiry follows increased scrutiny of Biden's health, sparked by his 2023 debate performance and intensified by revelations in a new book, "Original Sin," by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. The book alleges that aides considered using a wheelchair for Biden during his final campaign due to physical deterioration.
Shortly after ending his campaign, Biden announced he was battling aggressive prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. Trump's team now points to this diagnosis as further evidence that Biden was unfit for office — and possibly not making decisions himself.
Biden Pushes Back
In a direct response, Biden dismissed the accusations as "ridiculous," according to the BBC.
"Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations," Biden said in a statement released the same day the probe was announced, as reported by the BBC.
He further criticized Trump and Republican lawmakers for what he described as a distraction campaign intended to deflect from controversial new legislation, including proposed cuts to programs like Medicaid.
Legal Experts Weigh In
From a legal standpoint, experts are skeptical that the investigation will yield much. Presidents have long been permitted to use autopens as long as they approve the action. In fact, a 2005 Department of Justice opinion concluded that the use of an autopen, if directed by the president, was legally sound — even for signing legislation.
According to WHYY, Boston College law professor Kent Greenfield added that even if a signature was mechanically produced, "the president's authority is the president's authority" — so long as he gave the green light.
Still, Trump's move may not be aimed at courtrooms. Richard Pildes, a constitutional law scholar at NYU, told WHYY, "I think it's more of a political act than one that will have any legal effect."
Politics Behind the Curtain
While it's unlikely that Biden's pardons or policy decisions will be overturned, the investigation throws fuel on a long-smoldering narrative — that Biden was too frail, too sick, or too out-of-touch to govern.
Trump and his allies are already using the probe to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Biden's executive orders, judgeships, and pardons. In March, Trump claimed on social media that several of Biden's high-profile pardons were "hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OF EFFECT" because they were signed by autopen — a move legal experts say holds no constitutional weight, according to NPR.
An Unprecedented Step
No modern president has ordered an official investigation into a predecessor's mental fitness while simultaneously questioning the validity of their executive actions. The last time a similar concern was raised — when critics claimed President Woodrow Wilson's wife secretly ran the government after his stroke — it was never formally investigated.
This time, it's not gossip — it's a government directive.
What happens next depends on how far Trump's administration pushes the inquiry. While the legal stakes may be minimal, the political consequences are already unfolding in real-time — and voters are watching.
References: Trump orders inquiry into Biden's actions, alleging 'cognitive decline' | Trump orders a probe into the Biden administration and its alleged autopen use | What Trump ordering an investigation into Biden’s actions might mean legally and politically
