Trump relentlessly attacked Biden for the same thing he just did

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

The wild theory arose from Biden’s use of a pop-open device, a machine that replicates a person’s signature. Presidents have used these types of devices for decades to speed up the signing process, but Trump has been relentless in his attempt to turn Biden’s use into a scandal, suggesting that many of his orders are “VOID.”

In particular, overturning Biden’s presidential pardons would make it easier for Trump to pursue more political enemies in court. People like “shrewd” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), whom he called a “low-IQ war hawk.”

So when Trump added a gallery of presidential portraits to the West Wing colonnade, Biden’s photo was conspicuously absent, replaced by a photograph of an automatic opening device. Trump has talked about the conspiracy theory numerous times during press interrogations, regardless of whether he was specifically asked about it, and even mentioned it in 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 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, THE AUTOPEN IS THE LARGEST POLITICAL SCANDAL IN AMERICAN HISTORY!!!” Trump wrote in June. He ordered an investigation into Biden’s use of autopen the same month.

That’s what made his admission on “60 Minutes” so surprising.

via News

When asked by 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, known as CZ, less than two weeks ago.

But in his own words, not only was he not fully aware of his action, but he was relying on information that others transmitted to him, just as he accused Biden of doing.

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

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

(You can read the full 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 his children are “much more involved in cryptocurrencies” than he is.

“I know very little about it, other than one thing. It’s a huge industry. And if we’re not going to be the head of it, China, Japan or somewhere else will be. So I’m behind this 100%,” Trump said.

“This man was, in my opinion, from what I was told, a four-month sentence. But this man was treated very poorly by the Biden administration. And they gave him a prison sentence. He’s very respected. He’s a very successful guy. They sent him to prison and they really set him up.”

“That’s my opinion. They told me that,” Trump said.

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

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

“Well, here’s the thing: I don’t know anything about it because I’m too busy doing the other thing…” Trump began to respond.

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

“Norah, I can only tell you this. My kids like this. I’m glad they do, because it’s probably a great industry, cryptography. I think it’s good,” Trump said. “You know, they run a business, they’re not in government.”

“My only son is now a number one bestseller. My wife just had a number one bestseller. I’m proud of them for doing it. I’m focused on this. I don’t know anything about this guy other than I heard he was a victim of military use by the 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 don’t seem to fit well together: The pardon he granted to a billionaire crypto tycoon shouldn’t be scrutinized because he doesn’t fully know who Zhao is, but Biden’s pardons ought be examined for essentially the same reason.