President Donald Trump recently made a bold and dramatic announcement on his social media platform, Truth Social. He claimed that he was cancelling all of former President Joe Biden’s executive orders and official documents that were signed using an autopen. An autopen is a device used by presidents for decades to sign documents when they are not physically present. Trump also suggested that Joe Biden could even face criminal charges because of this. His posts quickly spread online and caused a wave of reactions, with many people shaking their heads in disbelief.
In his post, Trump wrote that any document Biden approved with an autopen, which he claimed was about 92 percent of all Biden’s executive actions, was now invalid. He insisted that the autopen is not supposed to be used unless the president gives direct personal approval each time. According to Trump, Biden did not approve any of those uses, and therefore the documents had no legal force. Trump went further to declare that he was cancelling all executive orders Biden “did not personally sign by hand,” saying the people who operated the autopen acted illegally.
Trump then took an even stronger position by warning that if Biden claimed he had approved those autopen signatures, then Biden should be charged with perjury, which is lying under oath. It was a shocking claim for a sitting president to make against a former president, especially one who served just before him.
But almost immediately, journalists, political analysts, and legal experts responded. Many said the same thing: Trump does not have the legal authority to cancel Biden’s executive orders through a social media post. Laws and presidential actions are not undone simply because a president writes something online. Several experts explained that even a formal attempt to cancel past executive orders would require proper legal procedures, and even then, Trump could not undo many things that were already fully implemented by federal agencies.
Gizmodo reporter Matt Novak wrote that Trump’s idea would fail instantly in court. He added that people have become used to Trump making sweeping announcements without following them up with actual legal action. Another commentator, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick from the American Immigration Council, reminded the public that Truth Social is not the same as an official government platform. He said Trump often posts things that never turn into real policy.
Many people also found Trump’s message ironic because he himself used the autopen many times during his first presidency, just like almost every president before him. Autopens have been used for decades, especially when the president is traveling, sick, or handling multiple duties at once. Even President John F. Kennedy used the autopen, and it has been a normal White House practice ever since. Because of that long history, experts said Trump’s sudden claim that the autopen is illegal simply made no sense.
Legal scholars also explained why Trump could not prosecute Biden for perjury or any crime related to official presidential acts. A major Supreme Court ruling in 2024, Trump v. United States, declared that presidents have absolute immunity for actions taken while performing their official duties. That ruling actually helps Trump himself more than it helps Biden. For Trump to now say he could charge Biden for official actions caused even more confusion and criticism online.
Liberal commentator Brian Krassenstein strongly criticized Trump’s statement, saying Trump had personally used the autopen “hundreds of times.” Many people shared similar sentiments, pointing out that Trump’s message seemed hypocritical and legally meaningless. Democratic strategist Jason Karsh said that although Trump legally could not do any of this, he would still “try” because he wants to punish his political rivals and portray himself as a tough leader. Progressive writer Leah McElrath said Trump becomes more unpredictable the more unpopular or pressured he feels, and that statements like these could be a sign of his growing frustration.
Journalist Robert Silverman said the obsession with the autopen was “lunacy,” but explained that some far-right influencers have spent years pushing conspiracy theories claiming Biden was not really signing documents. According to them, Biden was either too weak or too absent to sign things himself. Silverman noted that Trump’s post seemed to be feeding directly into those conspiracy theories, giving them new life even though they had been debunked repeatedly.
A retired Minnesota commissioner, Linda Higgins, spoke for many legal experts when she called Trump’s declaration “totally unenforceable.” She explained that nothing Trump wrote online had any impact under the law. Biden’s executive orders remain in effect unless Congress or the courts take action, and a social media post does not count as government action. She then added a frustrated question many people were thinking: Why doesn’t anyone around Trump stop him from posting things that are obviously false or impossible to enforce?
The overall reaction across the political world was a mix of disbelief, frustration, and exhaustion. Many people felt that Trump was making dramatic statements simply to get attention or to stir up his supporters. Others felt he was testing how far he could push the limits of presidential power without consequences. Legal experts, however, were firm: Trump cannot erase Biden’s executive orders this way, he cannot criminally charge Biden for something protected by presidential immunity, and he cannot rewrite history with a single online post.
In the end, Trump’s announcement created more noise than impact. It sparked conversations, criticism, and mockery, but it did not change the law, did not undo Biden’s actions, and did not give Trump any new powers. It became just another example of Trump saying something dramatic online, only for experts to quickly explain why nothing would actually change.
