Fact check: Had Donald Trump ever used an auto pen?

Executive summary — Short answer: No reliable public evidence that Donald Trump used an autopen; news coverage shows Trump criticized Joe Biden’s alleged autopen use and displayed an autopen photo in the White House, but the supplied reporting does not document Trump himself using the device. The available articles from September 24–25, 2025 describe Trump’s symbolic replacement of Joe Biden’s portrait with a photograph of an autopen and his public fixation on Biden’s use of the device, yet none of the provided pieces present direct, verifiable instances of Trump employing an autopen to sign documents ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

1. How the claim arose and what reporters documented

Contemporaneous coverage on September 24–25, 2025 centers on President Trump’s creation of a “Presidential Walk of Fame” in the White House and his choice to substitute Joe Biden’s portrait with an image of an autopen signing Biden’s name, framed as a political taunt and an assertion that Biden’s signature was not always genuine. Reporters documented Trump’s statements alleging without publicly released evidence that Biden administration officials may have used an autopen to sign documents, and noted Trump’s prior focus on the matter, including ordering an investigation earlier in June ^{[4] [2] [5]}. None of these pieces attribute autopen use to Trump himself.

2. What the supplied sources explicitly say — absence of evidence about Trump’s autopen use

Multiple outlets in the supplied set reiterate the same factual core: Trump hung an autopen image instead of Biden’s portrait and publicly criticized alleged autopen use by Biden aides, but no supplied report documents Trump signing via autopen. Summaries show the coverage emphasizes Trump’s allegation and symbolic gesture rather than presenting documentary proof of autopen use by Trump. Several items explicitly note the lack of direct information that Trump himself ever used an autopen, focusing instead on his criticism of Biden’s alleged reliance on the device ^{[1] [3] [6]}.

3. Contrasting narratives in the coverage — political theater versus administrative concern

The stories present two concurrent frames: one treats the autopen image as political theater — a provocation designed to embarrass Biden — while another treats Trump’s focus as an administrative claim about the legitimacy of signatures and decision-making. Coverage on September 24–25, 2025 reports that Trump had ordered an investigation in June and later staged the autopen display, signaling both an investigative posture and a rhetorical tactic. The sources thus record both the political messaging and the official posture, without resolving whether the autopen was actually used by Biden’s team or by Trump ^{[2] [5] [7]}.

4. Timeline and factual anchors found in the reporting

All the provided items are dated September 24–25, 2025 and consistently place the autopen episode within that narrow window of White House actions and commentary. The news pieces note an earlier June action — an investigation ordered by Trump into autopen use — establishing a timeline of months leading to the September display. This chronology supports the interpretation that the autopen image was a culmination of a longer-running fixation by Trump on alleged autopen use, but it does not produce documentary proof of autopen use by Trump at any point ^{[2] [7] [4]}.

5. Where the coverage leaves important questions unanswered

The supplied reports omit several key verifiable elements: there is no produced documentary evidence (signed documents, procurement records, witness testimony) in these pieces proving autopen use by either president, and none of the articles cite forensic signature analyses or internal memos confirming delegation of signing authority. The reporting therefore leaves open whether autopen use occurred in specific instances, who authorized it, and whether laws or administrative rules were implicated. The absence of such evidence means the public record in these stories remains incomplete ^{[1] [3] [5]}.

6. Competing explanations and likely political agendas visible in coverage

The coverage shows clear political motives: Trump’s display functions as both a personal attack on Biden’s competence and a rhetorical claim about administrative legitimacy, while outlets report on that act with varying emphasis on provocation versus governance. The repeated framing of the autopen image as a “snub” or “troll” signals an understanding of political theater; conversely, sourcing the June investigation highlights an attempt to frame the question as a governance issue. Readers should note both agendas — partisan spectacle and administrative scrutiny — are present in the same accounts ^{[4] [2] [7]}.

7. Bottom line for the original question and suggestions for verifying further

Based solely on the supplied September 24–25, 2025 reporting, the answer to “Had Donald Trump ever used an autopen?” is “not established by these sources.” The articles document Trump’s criticism of Biden’s alleged autopen use and Trump’s public display of an autopen photograph, but they do not provide direct evidence that Trump himself used an autopen. To move from allegation to established fact would require procurement or White House records, eyewitness testimony, or forensic signature analysis — none of which appear in the supplied coverage ^{[1] [2] [6]}.