Trump shows off mock-up portrait of Biden’s autopen during interview
Former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen is again in the headlines, but this time, it’s not for his usage but for a new portrait in the White House. President Donald Trump said he had a picture of the autopen made to be hung up somewhere in the White House.
The president announced the new portrait during an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller on Monday. The president, along with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, spoke on several topics, including the Trump administration’s crime crackdown in Washington, mental health institutions, mass shootings and gender identity.
Biden received criticism after he signed several blanket pardons, including one for his son Hunter, that protected him from prosecution for
What is an autopen?
An autopen is a device that duplicates signatures using real ink. This makes it easier for public figures, like politicians, to easily sign documents and even merchandise.
The device is about the size of a printer and has an arm that can hold a pen or pencil. A document, or anything that can be signed, sits below it and is signed by the machine.
The Autopen Company, the company that manufactures the device, said it has been around for decades and comes in several versions.
What is the controversy of Biden’s autopen use?
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The first commercially successful modern autopen was developed by Robert M. De Shazo Jr. in 1942.
The controversy of Biden’s autopen use started in March, after Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey posted a letter on X asking the Justice Department to investigate if Biden’s alleged mental decline allowed his staff to pass policy without his knowledge.
A day after Baily posted that letter, the Oversight Project, created by the right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation, posted on X that “WHOEVER CONTROLLED THE AUTOPEN CONTROLLED THE PRESIDENCY.” The Heritage Foundation was also the same group that created Project 2025, something the president distanced himself from during his 2024 campaign.
Later in March, Trump posted on Truth Social that all of Biden’s pardons that he signed right before he left office were “VOID” because of the use of the autopen. However, there is no law, rule or legal precedent that states the use of an autopen voids a president’s policy. In fact, the Department of Justice under former Republican President George W. Bush said a president “may sign a bill by directing a subordinate to use an autopen.”
In May, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., announced he opened an investigation into Biden’s autopen use. He said he was opening the investigation since the American people “deserve to know who was actually calling the shots” when Biden was president. In his letter, Comer criticized Biden for using the device for “blanket pardons” and said the documents he signed using the autopen would be “fully examined.”
However, as Straight Arrow News previously reported, Comer had used his digital signature in letters and subpoena notices related to the probe.
In June, Trump ordered an investigation into Biden’s autopen usage. He said it may be “one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.”
Hasn’t Trump used an autopen?
Many presidents have used the autopen several times during the presidency, including Trump. During an interview, Trump said that he does use the machine whenever he can’t sign things on his own but prefers to sign things by hand.
Despite Trump’s previous use of the device, the president said he was more concerned about who “controlled the autopen” and not the use of the device itself. However, on the “Pod Force One” podcast, he did say that Biden’s use of the autopen was a “crime” but did not elaborate on how it was.
Trump also said he didn’t have any evidence for his claims that Biden’s team used the autopen without his approval. Trump said Biden’s team used the autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline.
Biden pushed back on Trump’s claims, saying they were a “distraction” from the Republican agenda in Congress.
“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 said.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
