Victor Davis Hanson on the Autopen Controversy and Biden's Presidency

The Autopen Controversy

• 📌 Donald Trump has claimed that approximately 92% of documents signed by Joe Biden were done using an autopen, not his direct signature.
• 🎯 Trump has declared these autopen-signed documents, including executive orders, to be terminated and of no further legal effect, asserting the autopen was used illegally.
• ⚠️ The validity of post-facto cancellations and potential legal challenges to pardons or other actions initiated by autopen signatures are raised as significant issues.

Biden as a 'Waxen Effigy'

• 🎭 Victor Davis Hanson describes the Biden presidency as a deliberate strategy where Biden was used as a 'moderate veneer' and a 'waxen effigy'.
• 🧠 The argument is that Biden was chosen as a viable candidate, and his perceived return to 'normality' was sold to the public, masking a radical agenda.
• 📉 This agenda, Hanson suggests, involved actions such as destroying the border, weaponizing government agencies like the DOJ and FBI, and mishandling the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Autopen and Radical Agendas

• 💡 The autopen was allegedly used to implement a radical agenda, including DEI and ESG initiatives, without explicit public support or Biden's direct, informed consent.
• 🚫 Hanson posits that if the radical nature of these policies had been explicit, they would not have gained public approval.
• ⚖️ The use of the autopen is framed as a 'sham' and a method to bypass democratic processes and public consensus.

Trump's Response and Historical Context

• 🗣️ Trump's strong reaction, while criticized by some for its tone, is defended by Hanson as a response to an 'egregious' and unprecedented situation in American history.
• 📜 The situation is compared to Woodrow Wilson and Edith Wilson covering up his stroke, but Hanson states the current situation is more profound.
• 🧐 The legitimacy of presidential autopen use is questioned, with the expectation that presidents must provide documentation of direct approval or orders for its use.