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For several months now, President Donald Trump has been pushing a conspiracy theory claiming that former President Joe Biden was mentally unfit to govern, so much so that Biden’s own staff supposedly manipulated him into signing documents he never actually approved. This theory sprang from Biden’s use of an autopen, a device that replicates signatures. It's worth noting that autopens have been used by presidents for decades as a practical tool to speed up the signing process. Despite this, Trump has relentlessly tried to spin Biden’s use of the device as a serious scandal, even suggesting that many of Biden’s orders could be considered "VOID."
One particular angle Trump has pursued involves Biden’s presidential pardons. Trump implied that nullifying these pardons would allow him to pursue more legal actions against his political adversaries, such as Senator Adam Schiff and former Representative Liz Cheney, whom he disparaged with nicknames like “shifty” and “low IQ war hawk.” Trump’s fixation on this issue was even visible symbolically when he added a gallery of presidential portraits in the West Wing colonnade that conspicuously left out Biden’s photo, replacing it with an image of an autopen device.
Trump has repeatedly brought up this conspiracy theory during press interactions, whether or not the questions were related. In May, he claimed the person using the autopen was effectively "usurping the power of the Presidency." By June, he declared the autopen issue the biggest political scandal in American history besides the "RIGGED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020," and even ordered an investigation into Biden’s autopen use.
However, what makes this all the more striking is Trump's own recent admission on "60 Minutes." When asked to justify his pardon of cryptocurrency billionaire Changpeng Zhao (known as CZ), Trump admitted he barely knew who Zhao was and was relying on information told to him by others. This admission ironically mirrors the very accusation Trump has leveled at Biden: that he signs off on important decisions without full knowledge, influenced by others. Zhao, founder of Binance, was pardoned despite pleading guilty to money laundering offenses in 2023. Trump’s family has made millions from crypto, raising concerns and accusations about potential conflicts of interest in the pardon.
During the interview, Trump distanced himself from Zhao but expressed strong support for the cryptocurrency industry overall, highlighting that his sons are more deeply involved in crypto than he is. When pressed about accusations of corruption or pay-for-play, Trump downplayed his knowledge of the matter, focusing instead on his family's involvement in crypto and reiterating his belief that Zhao was treated unfairly by the Biden administration.
Interestingly, both Trump and Biden face questions about their mental fitness, and they are only about three years apart in age. Trump’s current stance is contradictory: he argues that his own pardon of Zhao shouldn’t be scrutinized because he doesn’t fully know the individual, yet Biden’s pardons should be questioned for that very same reason. This double standard highlights the complex and often contradictory nature of political discourse surrounding presidential authority and accountability.
Overall, the situation paints a vivid picture of how political narratives can be weaponized, sometimes ignoring the facts in favor of personal or party agendas. It also reflects the ongoing tension around presidential powers, the use of technology in governance, and the influence of emerging industries like cryptocurrency on political decisions.
