Donald Trump’s speech in Miami was ostensibly about the economy, but as is usually the case, the president took the opportunity to do what he does at practically all of his events: He smeared Joe Biden.
Trump: “He gave thousands of pardons to people he had no idea about it. He didn't know about it, and therefore, all those pardons are void…You have the opposite right now. I don't want to be braggadocious, but I know exactly what's happened.” pic.twitter.com/YCl7iIKz33
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) November 5, 2025
As part of his latest “autopen” harangue, the Republican claimed that his immediate Democratic predecessor gave “thousands” of pardons, but he “had no idea” what was happening. “Therefore,” Trump said, “all those pardons are void.”
The incumbent president added, “You have the opposite right now. I don’t want to be braggadocious, but you have the exact — I know exactly what’s happened.”
For now, let’s put aside that there’s literally no evidence of the Biden White House having approved pardons without the then-president’s knowledge. Let’s also not dwell on the fact that Trump lacks the authority to invalidate his predecessor’s pardons.
What I found more interesting was Trump claiming that he, unlike Biden, knows “exactly” what’s going on when it comes to pardons. Because the president himself has offered some very direct comments to the contrary.
In March, after Trump pardoned one of his donors, he was pressed for an explanation. He appeared clueless: He wasn’t familiar with the details, the president said, but “they” told him that the criminal had been treated unfairly, which was good enough for him to sign a pardon.
More recently, Trump signed one of the more scandalous pardons of his presidency (to date), extending clemency to Changpeng Zhao, founder of the crypto exchange Binance, who helped finance the president’s stablecoin and put money in the Trump family’s pockets. Just hours later, a reporter asked the Republican why he’d taken such a step.









