President Donald Trump made a surprising comment while discussing one of Joe Biden‘s final acts in office. Even as he questioned parts of the decision, Trump acknowledged that he respects the former president’s use of one of the presidency’s most powerful authorities.
Donald Trump says he respects Joe Biden because of Fauci pardon
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he respects former President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon Dr. Anthony Fauci, even as he continued raising questions about how the pardon was issued.
Trump made the remarks in the Oval Office shortly after Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment during a Senate hearing examining the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic (via The Hill).
Speaking to reporters, Trump called the presidential pardon one of the strongest powers available to any commander in chief. “He was pardoned by Biden, and I respect that,” Trump said, adding that the pardon power is “literally the most powerful thing a president has.”
However, he quickly shifted gears by suggesting the only lingering question involved Biden’s reported use of an autopen, claiming the former president “probably didn’t sign this one” while acknowledging he could not say what the law ultimately requires. Trump added that, aside from those questions, the pardon power remains extraordinarily significant.
Biden granted Fauci a preemptive pardon on his final day in office, covering potential federal offenses between January 1, 2014, and January 19, 2025. The action came roughly two years after Fauci retired from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases following nearly four decades leading the agency.
Trump and members of his administration have argued that documents signed with an autopen could face legal challenges, although previous presidents have also used the device for official actions.
Trump’s comments followed Fauci’s appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times. Before declining to answer lawmakers’ questions, Fauci argued that Sen. Rand Paul had become fixated on pursuing criminal charges against him and suggested the hearing sought to pressure him into making statements that could support those efforts.
