Fact check: No, Biden didn’t say that signing lots of executive orders makes you a dictator
Fact check: No, Biden didn’t say that signing lots of executive orders makes you a dictator
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Washington (CNN) President Joe Biden has signed more than 35 executive orders, actions and memorandums in his first week-and-a-half in the Oval Office. And some of Biden’s critics are saying or suggesting that his frequent early use of the presidential pen contradicts a dramatic statement he made on the campaign trail in October.
“Biden signed off on a record number of executive orders during his first week – but just three months ago, according to Biden himself, that’s something only a dictator would do,” Fox News host Sean Hannity said on air Tuesday.
“As recently as October, now-President Biden said you can’t legislate by executive action unless you’re a dictator. Well, in one week, he’s signed more than 30 unilateral actions, and working Americans are getting short shrift,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday in the Senate.
- “By his own definition, Biden is already governing like a dictator,” read a headline on an opinion column in The Hill by commentator Joe Concha. Biden signs more executive orders despite claims he once said they were for dictators," read a headline in the conservative Washington Examiner. “Joe Biden admits he is governing like a ‘dictator,’” said a caption posted on Instagram by Charlie Kirk, founder and president of conservative student group Turning Point USA.
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These Biden critics are taking his “dictator” remark out of context. Biden explicitly campaigned on signing various executive orders, including those to rescind some of then-President Donald Trump’s own executive orders, and he didn’t say in October that signing a large number of orders means a president is a dictator. Rather, after Biden rejected the idea of using an executive order to raise taxes on corporations and wealthy people, he said there are “things you can’t do by executive order unless you’re a dictator.” In other words, Biden was saying what he had said before and has said since – that executive orders are unconstitutional for some particular purposes.
In an email, McConnell spokesman David Popp forcefully rejected CNN’s conclusion that McConnell had inaccurately characterized Biden’s “dictator” remark. Popp said that given the full text of what Biden said in October, and other campaign comments Biden made about his belief in a consensus-seeking philosophy of governing, “your fact check doesn’t check out.”
We respectfully disagree. Let’s go through some relevant history.
Biden’s comments
Biden argued during the campaign that other politicians, including some of his rivals in the Democratic primary, were proposing to use executive orders in situations where orders could not properly be used. He told the New York Times editorial board in December 2019 that it would be unconstitutional to sign an executive order to ban possession of assault weapons or to make substantial changes to the judiciary.
At an ABC News town hall event in Philadelphia in October 2020, Biden was asked by host George Stephanopoulos if it is wise to carry out his proposals to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy at a time when the economy is weak. After Biden defended his plan, Stephanopoulos said, “So there’s not going to be any delay on the tax increases.”
Biden responded: “No, well, I’ve gotta get the votes. I gotta get the votes. That’s why – you know, the one thing that I – I have this strange notion. We are a democracy. Some of my Republican friends and some of my Democratic friends even, occasionally say, ‘Well, if you can’t get the votes, by executive order you’re going to do something.’ Things you can’t do by executive order unless you’re a dictator. We’re a democracy. We need consensus.”
This was familiar Biden rhetoric. Like his previous comments to the Times, the “dictator” remark was a criticism of proposals to use executive orders for initiatives that require congressional approval, not an assertion that signing a lot of executive orders is inherently tyrannical.
Popp argued that Biden’s subsequent sentence about the need for “consensus” shows that he was making a broad statement about his philosophy of governing, not just speaking narrowly about executive orders for a change to tax policy. And Popp noted that Biden had repeatedly spoken, including in the Times interview, about the importance of bringing people together and working through Congress.
That’s fair enough. But McConnell still went too far when he implied that Biden signing a bunch of executive orders means he contradicted the “dictator” comment in particular.
There’s also some additional important context.
Biden’s campaign promises
Multiple Biden executive orders simply rescind policies Trump had imposed through his own executive orders without public complaint from McConnell and other Biden critics. And, critically, Biden promised during the campaign that he would sign significant executive orders. In fact, many of Biden’s early-presidency executive orders fulfil explicit campaign pledges.
For example, Biden signed a series of orders aimed at combating climate change – just as his campaign climate plan, which is still on his website , said he would: “On day one, Biden will sign a series of new executive orders with unprecedented reach that go well beyond the Obama-Biden Administration platform and put us on the right track.”
Fact Check: Video of water tanker hitting women en route farmers’ protest has no political connection
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A viral video on social media shows some women, who were on their way to take part in the farmers’ protest, being hit by a tanker.
Amid the violent clashes that took place between the agitating farmers and Delhi police, a viral video on social media shows some women, who were on their way to take part in the farmers’ protest, being hit by a tanker.
If a post on a Twitter video is to be believed, in a moment of rage a BJP official hit some women when they were on their way to participate in the farmers’ protest march in Delhi.
The Hindi caption to the video translates to, “Some women who were on way to take part in the farmers’ protest were hit and run over by an angry BJP worker with a water tanker. However, no media organisation showed these visuals and questioned the BJP leaders. Shameful.”
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
The primary member of the Congress, Alka Lamba also posted the video on her Twitter handle with the same claim stating that the incident is “shameful” and “gruesome”.
The archived version of her tweet can be seen here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the claims made with this video are mostly false. The incident took place on January 26, 2021, in Amritsar. It was a local accident and had no political connection.
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE VIRAL CLAIM
While investigating the video, AFWA found that the incident took place in Amritsar where the water tanker hit five women, two of whom died, and three others were severely injured.
The women were heading towards the Vallah Chowk to take part in an agitation supporting the farmers’ protest. Several media channels had reported the incident.
For further clarifications about the accident, AFWA contacted Sanjeev Kumar, SHO of Vallah Police station, and Jagmohan Singh, DCP Law and Order Amritsar City Police. Both confirmed to AFWA that the incident was a local accident and no political connection. They also said the accident took place as the driver had lost control over his tanker.
“The incident has no political connection. We have arrested the errant driver. A case had also been registered with the Vallah police station,” said Singh.
Hence, it is clear that the claims made with this video on social media are mostly false.
INDIA TODAY FACT CHECK
Claim In a moment of rage, a BJP official hit some women with a water tanker and ran over them, when they were on their way to participate in the farmers’ protest march in Delhi. Conclusion The incident took place in Amritsar on January 26, 2021. A senior Amritsar City Police official confirmed that it was a local accident and had no political connection. The accident took place when the driver lost control of the tanker. JHOOTH BOLE KAUVA KAATE The number of crows determines the intensity of the lie. 1 Crow: Half True
2 Crows: Mostly lies
3 Crows: Absolutely false
Fact check: National Guard will remain in DC through Trump’s impeachment trial
The claim: Thousands of National Guard troops will remain in Washington during Trump’s impeachment trial
The upcoming second Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump is a major security concern for Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Capitol, according to a Jan. 25 Instagram post that states the National Guard will remain in the city out of an abundance of caution.
The post, “Thousands Of National Guard Troops Will Remain In Washington D.C. For Impeachment Trial,” was posted to the page for Poli Alert, a “Civics 101” and political news account, according to its profile page. The claim is a meme featuring a picture of a group of unidentified troops in fatigues guarding the Capitol.
A member of the guard said they wanted to avoid another incident like the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to the post caption.
“Deployments have been extended in several #NationalGuard units. ‘We are not going to allow any surprises again,’ a Guard said, referring to the events that took place at the Capitol on January 6,” the caption states.
The post also references an apparent Politico story about a retainer of 5,000 National Guard troops in the nation’s capital from the start of the trial, scheduled for Feb. 8, through mid-March.
Nearly 26,000 troops were deployed for President Joe Biden’s inauguration, USA TODAY reported.
“According to Politico, no official justifications, threat reports, or any explanation for the extended missions has been given,” the caption reads.
Congress impeached then-President Trump on Jan. 13 for inciting his supporters to attack the Capitol during a special congressional joint session to certify Biden the winner of the 2020 election.
Additional concerns surround March 4, the date when some QAnon conspiracy theorists falsely believe Trump will be inaugurated for a second time despite having lost the election to Biden, according to the claim. QAnon relies on a belief that high profile members of the Democratic Party will be exposed as child sex-traffickers in a mass-arrest event known as “The Storm.”
Story continues
USA TODAY reached out to Poli Alert for comment.
More: Fact check: No basis for claims that President Joe Biden’s inauguration was faked
National Guard troops will remain in DC
The Instagram post accurately cited a Jan. 24 Politico story about National Guard troops remaining to protect the Capitol throughout the impeachment trial. Some statements in the post caption were copied from the article, and the absence of named sources is also reflected in the Politico piece.
“Former President Donald Trump’s upcoming Senate impeachment trial poses a security concern that federal law enforcement officials told lawmakers last week requires as many as 5,000 National Guard troops to remain in Washington through mid-March, according to four people familiar with the matter,” Politico reported.
However, the claim leaves out some details, such as the fact that most National Guard troops will volunteer to remain in the city.
“Several National Guard units have seen their deployments extended involuntarily, though a majority of Guardsmen remaining in Washington will do so on a volunteer basis,” according to Politico.
The post also quotes the number of troops at around 5,000, but closer to 7,000 will stay to provide riot security near the beginning of February. Two-thousand troops will be transferred out of D.C. around Feb. 8, Politico reported.
A Jan. 25 report by The Associated Press about the retainer of National Guard troops throughout the Senate impeachment trial confirmed details stated in the claim and reported by Politico.
“The Guard Bureau said that the number of Guard members in D.C. is less than 20,000 as of Sunday. All but about 7,000 of those will go home in the coming days. The Guard Bureau said that the number of troops in D.C. would then continue to decline in the coming weeks to about 5,000. They are expected to stay in D.C. until mid-March,” the AP reported.
USA TODAY has debunked another claim stating Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration was fake and that Trump will be inaugurated again on March 4.
Our ruling: True
We rate this claim TRUE, based on our research. Some 5,000-7,000 National Guard troops will remain in Washington, D.C., from early February to mid-March to safeguard the city and the U.S. Capitol during Trump’s Senate impeachment trial. Though some details were missing, the Instagram post accurately referenced a Politico piece about the deployment.
Our fact-check sources:
The Associated Press contributed to this story
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: National Guard will stay in DC for impeachment trial