Trump Relentlessly Attacked Biden For The Same Thing He Just Admitted To

For months, President Donald Trump has aggressively promoted a conspiracy theory suggesting that former President Joe Biden was so mentally impaired that his staff manipulated him into signing documents during his presidency that he had not actually approved.

The wild theory grew out of Biden’s use of an autopen device, a machine that replicates a person’s signature. Presidents have used such devices for decades to streamline the signing process — but Trump has been relentless in his pursuit of spinning Biden’s use into a scandal, suggesting many of his orders are “VOID.”

In particular, nullifying Biden’s presidential pardons would make it easier for Trump to go after even more of his political enemies in the courts. People like “shifty” Senator Adam Schiff and former Representative Liz Cheney, whom he dubbed a “low IQ war hawk.” 

So when Trump added a gallery of presidential portraits to the West Wing colonnade, Biden’s picture was conspicuously absent, replaced with a photograph of an autopen device.

Trump has talked up the conspiracy theory numerous times during questioning from the press, regardless of whether he was specifically asked about it, and even mentioned it during completely unrelated speeches. In May, he declared that “whoever was using” the device was essentially “usurping the power of the Presidency.” 

“With the exception of the RIGGED PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020, THE AUTOPEN IS THE BIGGEST POLITICAL SCANDAL IN AMERICAN HISTORY!!!” Trump wrote in June. He ordered an investigation into Biden’s autopen use the same month. 

That is what made his “60 Minutes” admission so astounding. 

Asked by CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell to justify his decision to pardon crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao, Trump responded: “I don’t know who he is. I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt.”

Trump pardoned Zhao, who goes by CZ, less than two weeks ago. 

But by his own telling, not only was he not entirely aware of his action, he was leaning on information relayed to him by others — just as he accused Biden of doing.

Zhao — who created Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange — was pardoned after pleading guilty to enabling money laundering in 2023. 

O’Donnell approached Trump with a line of questioning about the pardon, given that his family has made millions from cryptocurrency, drawing accusations that Trump had corruptly pardoned Zhao in order to enrich the Trump clan. 

(You can read the entire transcript of his “60 Minutes” interview here.)

The president’s response was to distance himself from Zhao while reaffirming his support for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. He said that his sons are “involved in crypto much more” than he is. 

“I know very little about it, other than one thing. It’s a huge industry. And if we’re not gonna be the head of it, China, Japan or someplace else is. So I am behind it 100%,” Trump said.

“This man was, in my opinion — from what I was told — this is, you know, a four-month sentence. But this man was treated really badly by the Biden administration. And he was given a jail term. He’s highly respected. He’s a very successful guy. They sent him to jail and they really set him up.”

“That’s my opinion. I was told about it,” Trump said.

O’Donnell tried again to ask about the corruption accusations. 

“How do you address the appearance of pay-for-play?” she said. 

“Well, here’s the thing, I know nothing about it because I’m too busy doing the other —” Trump began to reply.

O’Donnell interrupted to point out he had signed a presidential pardon for the man, which is no small thing. 

“Norah, I can only tell you this. My sons are into it. I’m glad they are, because it’s probably a great industry, crypto. I think it’s good,” Trump said. “You know, they’re running a business, they’re not in government.”

“My one son is a No. 1 bestseller now. My wife just had a No. 1 bestseller. I’m proud of them for doing that. I’m focused on this. I know nothing about the guy, other than I hear he was a victim of weaponization by government,” he said. 

Trump, like Biden, is no stranger to questions about his mental fitness. The two men are only about three years apart in age. 

Trump is now making two arguments that do not appear to sit well together: The pardon he issued a billionaire crypto tycoon shouldn’t be scrutinized because he doesn’t totally know who Zhao is, but that Biden’s pardons should be scrutinized for essentially the same reason.