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Tanuki

(16,296 posts)
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 08:15 AM Mar 2025

Dementia or flat-out lying? Or both?

Trump is now claiming that he didn't sign the executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act and doesn't know who did, but it appears in the Federal Register with his signature.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/21/politics/trump-signature-alien-enemies-act-proclamation/index.html?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc

"President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed his involvement in invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan migrants, saying for the first time that he hadn’t signed the proclamation, even as he stood by his administration’s move.

“I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it,” Trump told reporters before leaving the White House on Friday evening.
The president made his comments when asked to respond to Judge James Boasberg’s concerns in court on Friday that the proclamation was “signed in the dark” of night and that migrants were hurried onto planes.

“We want to get criminals out of our country, number one, and I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it,” Trump said. “Other people handled it, but (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio has done a great job and he wanted them out and we go along with that. We want to get criminals out of our country.”

The proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act appears in the Federal Register with Trump’s signature at the bottom."...(more, including the White House's ludicrous walk-back, at link)

21 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Dementia or flat-out lying? Or both? (Original Post) Tanuki Mar 2025 OP
A singular character defect that is the sumtotal of his entire being. Being stupid and in dementia ... marble falls Mar 2025 #1
He could be telling the truth? He didn't sign the document. Irish_Dem Mar 2025 #2
He definitely signed it. The White House later admitted as much Tanuki Mar 2025 #4
We don't know if he signed it or not. Irish_Dem Mar 2025 #7
Important clarification that Trump did not sign the original Act in 1798 Martin Eden Mar 2025 #8
Trump and the WH lie all the time. Irish_Dem Mar 2025 #19
If someone else is forging his name on 'executive orders,' Tanuki Mar 2025 #20
So he/someone used an auto pen to sign it? mwmisses4289 Mar 2025 #3
The Fartful Dodger (R - Felon) BoRaGard Mar 2025 #5
So if he claims he didn't sign the executive order, then it must not be a legitimate order and all deportations LaMouffette Mar 2025 #6
Both surfered Mar 2025 #9
This one is a beauty: Baitball Blogger Mar 2025 #10
Would press coverage be different if Biden had done that? Martin Eden Mar 2025 #11
If Biden had done that they would have declared he was senile and the Baitball Blogger Mar 2025 #12
The zone has been flooded with so much orange fecal matter Martin Eden Mar 2025 #13
There would be howls for his resignation. Hope22 Mar 2025 #15
Autopen? 2naSalit Mar 2025 #14
His aides put paper in front of him, tell him a three-word synopsis, and he signs. surrealAmerican Mar 2025 #16
How is this not a giant flashing red light over Washington, DC? Where are the... Ol Janx Spirit Mar 2025 #17
If it is true what the convicted felon says, republianmushroom Mar 2025 #18
Both, possibly sakabatou Mar 2025 #21

marble falls

(71,062 posts)
1. A singular character defect that is the sumtotal of his entire being. Being stupid and in dementia ...
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 08:19 AM
Mar 2025

... is phlem icing on his shit cake of a being.

Irish_Dem

(79,782 posts)
2. He could be telling the truth? He didn't sign the document.
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 08:21 AM
Mar 2025

Or yes, he could be lying or forgot he signed it.

Tanuki

(16,296 posts)
4. He definitely signed it. The White House later admitted as much
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 08:38 AM
Mar 2025

and tried to put a ridiculous, nonsensical spin on his initial denial.

"Hours after the president made his comments on Friday, the White House claimed that Trump was not talking about whether he signed the document last week.

“President Trump was obviously referring to the original Alien Enemies Act that was signed back in 1798,” a White House statement said. “The recent Executive Order was personally signed by President Trump invoking the Alien Enemies Act that designated Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in order to apprehend and deport these heinous criminals.”

Yet Trump’s assertion that “other people handled it,” and his specific citation of Rubio, is at odds with that White House statement.

Trump raised Rubio’s name without prompting from reporters. When he was then asked a hypothetical question about whether he would send another deportation flight to El Salvador tonight amid the ongoing litigation, Trump said it would be up to Rubio."...(more)

Irish_Dem

(79,782 posts)
7. We don't know if he signed it or not.
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 08:42 AM
Mar 2025

It is possible some of the documents are being signed by others.

But I agree, the highest probability explanation is that Trump did sign it and is lying.

Martin Eden

(15,361 posts)
8. Important clarification that Trump did not sign the original Act in 1798
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 08:47 AM
Mar 2025

Glad we got that cleared up.

Irish_Dem

(79,782 posts)
19. Trump and the WH lie all the time.
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 10:53 AM
Mar 2025

We don’t know what happened exactly.

It is possible someone is signing documents other than Trump.

Tanuki

(16,296 posts)
20. If someone else is forging his name on 'executive orders,'
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 10:59 AM
Mar 2025

which as you point out is a distinct possibility, that is obviously a felony on many levels. There is no benign explanation for this, and we deserve to know the truth.

mwmisses4289

(3,221 posts)
3. So he/someone used an auto pen to sign it?
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 08:37 AM
Mar 2025

He's flat out lying, there are receipts to show him signing it are there not?
Reality and blowback have smacked him hard in the face, he and his idiots seem to keep thinking they only have to sign something and it will be done.

BoRaGard

(7,591 posts)
5. The Fartful Dodger (R - Felon)
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 08:39 AM
Mar 2025

He dodged the draft, and he dodges responsibility for the sorrows he visits upon the nation.

LaMouffette

(2,566 posts)
6. So if he claims he didn't sign the executive order, then it must not be a legitimate order and all deportations
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 08:39 AM
Mar 2025

must be reversed.

At least, that's what should happen in a sane world, but of course we're now living in Orwell-landia.

Baitball Blogger

(51,718 posts)
10. This one is a beauty:
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 09:00 AM
Mar 2025

“President Trump was obviously referring to the original Alien Enemies Act that was signed back in 1798,” a White House statement said. “The recent Executive Order was personally signed by President Trump invoking the Alien Enemies Act that designated Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in order to apprehend and deport these heinous criminals.”

Yet Trump’s assertion that “other people handled it,” and his specific citation of Rubio, is at odds with that White House statement.

Martin Eden

(15,361 posts)
11. Would press coverage be different if Biden had done that?
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 09:09 AM
Mar 2025

And how long would that continue to be brought up?

Baitball Blogger

(51,718 posts)
12. If Biden had done that they would have declared he was senile and the
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 09:12 AM
Mar 2025

calls to 25th him would be resounding on the Republican side of the chamber.

Martin Eden

(15,361 posts)
13. The zone has been flooded with so much orange fecal matter
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 09:15 AM
Mar 2025

That this latest incident barely causes a ripple in the cesspool.

Hope22

(4,468 posts)
15. There would be howls for his resignation.
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 10:28 AM
Mar 2025

Over and over, relentless badgering. Sunday morning shows would sing about the decrepit old man.

2naSalit

(99,998 posts)
14. Autopen?
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 10:06 AM
Mar 2025

That could get really smelly if others are able to use it without his knowledge. Also a danger if he simply cannot remember anything anymore beyond his lines that he's been regurgitating for decades.

surrealAmerican

(11,738 posts)
16. His aides put paper in front of him, tell him a three-word synopsis, and he signs.
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 10:35 AM
Mar 2025

He doesn't actually read anything.

Ol Janx Spirit

(709 posts)
17. How is this not a giant flashing red light over Washington, DC? Where are the...
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 10:46 AM
Mar 2025

...members of congress that lost their own minds over the every little thing that made them believe Biden was losing his? No explanation is acceptable as to how his signature got on the proclamation while he says he didn't sign it. And the White House statement that he was talking about the original signing in 1798 is criminally laughable. And okay, I know the GQP aren't going to say anything at all--that would go against their own interest and they accused Democrats of staying silent about Biden's cognitive issues, but the press should be sounding the alarm and asking questions. I suppose we will see if that happens.... But one thing I will call, write, and email my (truly rabidly insane) GQP members of congress to say--and this is in all sincerity--is that what Democrats did with Biden was a huge mistake for the Democratic Party. The lack of press conferences always bothered me, but I chalked it up to an incredibly busy administration trying to clean up a mess. Completely botching the Afghanistan withdrawal was easily explained away by blaming the military and the deal the previous administration had made. Setting Harris up for failure on immigration policy--an extremely predictable motivational issue given how badly Clinton was beaten on the issue and the popularity among many for the "build the wall" mantra--was something I really wondered about at the time. But those were likely run-of-the-mill political mistakes and miscalculations. But everything came home to hit me and the Democratic party hard at the first debate. Someone behind the scenes knew this was a possibility--they had to. In that moment I knew a giant political miscalculation had occurred, and I was genuinely mad at the entire party. You could look back on the shutting down of the primaries and lack of debates as the reason we were now poised to lose the election. Harris did an incredible job and I supported her in every way I could, but in my mind the damage had already been done. I know my GOP reps will not care about the good of the country, but if they have any sense of self-preservation they should take the story of the Democratic party as a cautionary tale and do something. In this moment I do not care about politics; I am incredibly afraid for the future of not only our country but our world in the hands of this person.

republianmushroom

(22,122 posts)
18. If it is true what the convicted felon says,
Sat Mar 22, 2025, 10:51 AM
Mar 2025

then somebody in his administration has broken the law. Is the DOJ investigating ?? trump lies a lot as does his whole administration. Good luck with the investigation.

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