politics

Trump Announces Cancellation of Documents Signed with a Ballpoint Pen During Biden's Presidency and Accuses Him of Losing Eligibility to Govern

November 29, 2025 France 24
Trump Announces Cancellation of Documents Signed with a Ballpoint Pen During Biden's Presidency and Accuses Him of Losing Eligibility to Govern

Trump announces the cancellation of documents signed with a ballpoint pen during Biden's presidency.

SUMMARY

Trump announces the cancellation of documents signed with a ballpoint pen during Biden's term.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Trump criticizes Biden for using a ballpoint pen.
  • The cancellation of documents signed with a ballpoint pen is considered a controversial legal step.

CORE SUBJECT

Cancellation of documents

Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday the cancellation of all documents signed with a ballpoint pen during Joe Biden's presidency, a move surrounded by legal controversy, and part of his escalating criticisms of his Democratic predecessor.

Trump consistently seeks to stir controversy over what he describes as Biden's use of a ballpoint pen to sign executive orders, pardons, and official documents, accusing the former president of suffering from dementia and being unfit to govern.

In a post on his platform "Truth Social," he stated, "Every document signed by sleepy Joe Biden using a ballpoint pen, which constitutes about 92% of his decisions, is considered null and void, lacking legal effect."

Trump confirmed his intention to cancel all executive orders and any other documents not personally signed by Biden, arguing that those who used the ballpoint pen did so illegally.

Read also: Trump Turns Thanksgiving Pardon Tradition into Political Attack on Democrats

Although previous presidents have resorted to automatic signature systems, Trump believes Biden's reliance on this method proves that the latter was mentally incompetent and that the White House was managed by others.

It is noted that Biden was 82 years old when he left office, while Trump is currently 79 years old, and his term is set to end in January 2029.

Conservative legal expert Ed Whelan clarified on social media that Trump has the full right to cancel executive orders whether signed by Biden manually or not, but he does not have the same authority over laws or pardons that were signed with a ballpoint pen.

The U.S. Department of Justice stated in 2005 that the president is not required to sign legislation in his own handwriting and can direct an official to affix his signature using a ballpoint pen.

In 2011, the "New York Times" reported that Barack Obama was the first president to sign legislation with a ballpoint pen while in Europe, and some documents are still sometimes sent to the president for signature while he is abroad.

At the end of his term, Biden granted pardons to several individuals targeted by Trump, including his son Hunter, members of Congress who were investigating the Republican billionaire, as well as a military leader he criticized, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the strategy against "COVID-19."

KEYWORDS

Trump Biden documents ballpoint pen executive orders

MENTIONED ENTITIES 3

Donald Trump

👤 Person_Male

Former U.S. President

Joe Biden

👤 Person_Male

Current U.S. President

Ed Whelan

👤 Person_Male

Conservative legal expert