President Donald Trump has issued an astonishing defense of Joe Biden, claiming a shadowy network of advisors took advantage of his cognitive decline in the White House and wreaked havoc on the country.
Trump campaigned with a tough-on-borders approach, vowing to embark on the largest mass deportation scheme the United States has ever seen and slamming the Democrats for opening the flood-gates during their time in office.
He has consistently targeted Biden for his lack of action while in the Oval Office.
Now, just days after Biden revealed he had been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer and amid increasing scrutiny about his cognitive ability, Trump has given the former Commander-in-Chief some unexpected grace.
‘The Joe Biden that everybody knew would never allow drug dealers, gang members, and the mentally insane to come into our Country totally unchecked and unvetted,’ he said in a Tuesday afternoon Truth Social post.
‘All anyone has to do is look up his record.
‘Joe Biden was not for Open Borders, he never talked about Open Borders, where criminals of all kinds, shapes, and sizes, can flow into our Country at will.’
Trump maintained it was ‘not [Biden’s] idea to Open the Border and almost destroy our Country.’
Instead, he blamed ‘the people that knew he was cognitively impaired, and that took over the Autopen.
President Donald Trump has issued an astonishing defense of Joe Biden , arguing advisors who took advantage of his cognitive decline in the White House are to blame for an influx of illegal migrants
Now, just days after Biden revealed he had been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer and amid increasing scrutiny about his cognitive ability, Trump has given the former Commander-in-Chief some unexpected grace
‘They stole the Presidency of the United States, and put us in Great Danger. This is TREASON at the Highest Level! They did it to destroy our Country.’
Trump argued that the decisions made by members of Biden’s administration – but not Biden himself – has ‘cost us Hundreds of Billions of Dollars to get criminals out of our Country, and go through the process we are going through now.’
Now, he is calling for a ‘very severe’ punishment for anyone found to be involved.
‘Something very severe should happen to these Treasonous Thugs that wanted to destroy our Country, but couldn’t, because I came along.’
Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer confirmed earlier this week that he had tried to subpoena three key White House aides during the Biden administration – Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, and Ashley Williams – over the use of autopen.
He said ‘the Biden White House obstructed the Committee’s investigation and refused to make the aides available for depositions or interviews.’
Trump has not specifically named any aides he accuses of wrongdoing.
An investigation by the conservative Oversight Project determined last month that Biden frequently used autopen for important documents.
White House aides Annie Tomasini (left) and Anthony Bernal (right) were both subpoenaed in the last Congress to provide answers over Biden’s autopen, but the administration blocked the efforts
Trump campaigned with a tough-on-borders approach, vowing to embark on the largest mass deportation scheme the United States has ever seen and slamming the Democrats for opening the flood-gates during their time in office. Pictured: A woman holds her daughter as she attempts to cross the border in 2024
Former Biden aide Ashley Williams was also subpoenaed, but the administration reportedly blocked her from testifying, Comer claimed
‘WHOEVER CONTROLLED THE AUTOPEN CONTROLLED THE PRESIDENCY,’ the organization said in a post on X sharing their findings.
While Trump’s defense of Biden is largely out of character, it is not the first time he’s publicly praised his predecessor.
In 2020, Trump told reporters he had always considered Biden ‘a very nice man’, and in 2024 after surviving an assassination attempt, Trump revealed Biden had called him to check in, revealing: ‘He couldn’t have been nicer.’
On day one of the 2.0 Trump administration, he declared a national emergency at the southern border as he set about implementing measures to turn migrants away.
And throughout the campaign, particularly before Biden dropped out of the race, Trump would refer to the crisis as ‘Biden’s invasion.’
In June 2024, he said: ‘I want to send Joe Biden’s illegal aliens back home where they belong.
‘They have to go back home because quite simply, Joe Biden wants an invasion. I want a deportation. I want a deportation.’
Throughout the campaign, particularly before Biden dropped out of the race, Trump would refer to the crisis as ‘Biden’s invasion’ (Pictured: border crossers in 2023)
Trump railed against two immigration programs created by the Biden administration to encourage migrants not to come directly to the southern border to seek asylum and make the region less chaotic.
In one of the programs, migrants as far south as the Mexican border with Guatemala were able to use a smartphone app called CBP One to schedule a date to come to an official US border crossing to seek asylum.
Separately, the administration launched a program in 2023 allowing 30,000 people each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to come to the United States if they have a financial sponsor, pass background vetting and buy a plane ticket to fly into an American airport instead of going to the southern border.
Trump said canceling both Biden-era policies would rid America of upwards of one million migrants.
His latest comments shifting the blame away from Biden and onto his advisors come amid increased scrutiny over the use of autopen during the last administration.
While Presidents, including Trump, have used autopens for decades, senior members of the current administration have raised questions about how aware Biden was of what he was signing, given his apparent cognitive decline during his term.
Trump’s message absolving Biden of guilt came via Truth Social
Biden signed executive orders in an effort to manage entries at border crossings. He was pictured here meeting with US Border Patrol officers in February 2024
‘We’re going to start looking into this whole thing with who signed this legislation. Who signed legislation opening our border?’ Trump asked earlier on Tuesday.
‘Now I find out it wasn’t him. He autopenned it.’
It also comes shortly after Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis, which brokered a brief truce between Republicans and Democrats as politicians across the divide came together to wish the 82-year-old well.
Trump was among the first to pay his respects, issuing a statement which read: ‘Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.’
But within 24 hours the truce was apparently over as MAGA loyalists and Trump himself questioned how long Biden’s inner circle had been sitting on the diagnosis.
‘It takes a long time to get to that situation… I’m surprised that it wasn’t, you know, the public wasn’t notified a long time ago because to get to stage nine, that’s a long time,’ Trump said.
‘Someone is going to have to speak to his doctor.’
Biden’s illness is rated 9 on the prostate cancer ‘Gleason scale’, which means it is extremely aggressive, and at stage 4 (there is no stage 5 with this cancer) in general medical terms.
Questions have been raised about Biden’s cognitive decline during his stint in the White House. Pictured falling onto stage in Pennsylvania in 2023
The cancer has already metastasized and spread to his bones.
Biden has since assured the public he was only made aware of his diagnosis last week, after discovering an abnormal nodule on his prostate.
‘Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer,’ a spokesperson for Biden insisted on Tuesday.
The statement added that Biden did not have have the test done to check for prostate problems since 2014.
