Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into Joe Biden’s actions during his presidency, accusing aides of a “conspiracy” to “deceive the public about Biden’s mental state”.
In this latest move to discredit his predecessor, Trump took aim at the aides’ use of an autopen - a device that replicates signatures which presidents, including Trump, have used for decades - to sign executive actions.
“This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history,” Trump said on Wednesday.
Biden slammed Trump’s move as “ridiculous”, saying his claims are aimed at distracting Americans as his administration works to extend tax breaks for the wealthy.
The problem is, though, that the powers of the Presidency are broad, and there is no part of the Constitution that says you can go back and invalidate the actions of a past President. There is even historical precedent for this, because near the end of Wilson’s presidency, it’s been commonly recognized that he was greatly incapacitated after a stroke in 1919, and his wife basically ran the country from then on. (There was no 25th amendment back then, but that can’t be invoked retroactively either) If there was any time when Wilson’s opposition could have opened this can of worms, it was then.
So no matter how much merit you may think this has, if we are a nation of laws then whether or not the President is at his best at all times during his term simply doesn’t matter. Trump is bringing this up now because he knows
Biden was actually fit to govern, even if he was diminished
Trump has no issues lying to get what he wants
If he can get the courts to embrace this lie, then he can get them to embrace others. And thats when the shit hits the fan.
So like so many other things Trump lies about, it’s win/win. If he wins, then he can push other lies to get the unlimited power he craves. If he loses, he still makes the other side spend money, while he can find a different lie to win on.