Trump rants about Biden and "The Autopen"
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President Trump speaks to media on Air Force One on May 15. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Trump on Tuesday speculated that former President Biden's aides may have used the autopen to enact less stringent border policies without Biden's knowledge.
Why it matters: Trump's comments signal a line of attack that he and his supporters are likely to employ against Democrats — particularly anyone in Biden's orbit — amid intensifying questions about the former president's health while he was in office.
- "We're gonna start looking into this whole thing with who signed this legislation. Who signed legislation opening our border? I don't think he knew," Trump told reporters on Capitol Hill, where he was attending a closed-door meeting of House Republicans.
- Trump didn't specify what legislation he was referring to or cite any evidence to back up his speculation.
Reality check: Trump has long faced questions about his own mental acuity, and his stream-of-consciousness comments about "The Autopen" were grist for more criticism from liberals.
- Trump acknowledged in March that he too uses the autopen on occasion, telling reporters "We may use it, as an example, to send some young person a letter, because it's nice."
Zoom in: Trump went on to assert that legislation had been signed via the autopen, perhaps without Biden's knowledge.
- "Who was operating the autopen?," he said, adding,"You know who signed it? Radical left lunatics who were running our country. And the autopen signed it."
The other side: A former Biden White House staffer dismissed Trump's suggestion that an autopen was used without Biden's knowledge.
- Also cutting against Trump's claims: Biden actually held a public signing ceremony for an executive order that temporarily barred migrants from crossing the Southern border unlawfully.
Zoom out: An autopen is a device used to make automatic or remote signatures, which has been used by multiple presidents as well as celebrities and other public figures for decades.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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