WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 30: Framed portraits of U.S. Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama flank an image of former U.S. President Joe Biden's signature and an autopen along "The Presidential Walk of Fame" on the wall of the colonnade outside of the Oval Office at the White House on October 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump has accused the previous administration of forging Biden's signature with an autopen due to "cognitive decline." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images News / Getty Images
Just One Thing: Trump vs the Autopen
Remember this? In the "Walk of Fame" of pictures/photos of presidents, President Trump used a picture of an autopen to represent Joe Biden.
Yesterday, President Trump announced this:
Any and all Documents, Proclamations, Executive Orders, Memorandums, or Contracts, signed by Order of the now infamous and unauthorized “AUTOPEN,” within the Administration of Joseph R. Biden Jr., are hereby null, void, and of no further force or effect. Anyone receiving “Pardons,” “Commutations,” or any other Legal Document so signed, please be advised that said Document has been fully and completely terminated, and is of no Legal effect. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
I get it...Biden probably had no idea, at least some of the time, what was being done in his name. But:
- You will never ever be able to prove it,
- Other presidents have used auto-pen (though Trump — and he deserves credit for this — seems only to have used it for documents that were not of legal importance such as letters or proclamations), and most importantly,
- A presidential pardon does not have to be a signed document, much less signed by the president’s own hand. In fact, it doesn’t need to be on paper at all though in practice they have been. The only thing required for a valid pardon is for the president to communicate that he has decided on it.
Please read the rest of my thoughts on my Substack and please subscribe (it's free!) Trump vs the Autopen - by Ross Kaminsky - The Ross Report
.
Today's Guests
Tyrone Adams is the CEO of the Colorado Association of Realtors. Kelly Caufield is Executive Director of the Common Sense Institute. We'll discuss CSI's new "Starter Home Initiative" which is a roadmap for municipalities to create the conditions for the development of more affordable housing. (I mean that term in the sense of housing that normal people can afford, first homes, etc., in in the sense of low-income housing.)
Tyrone Adams Named as New CAR CEO - Colorado Association of REALTORS
.
Other Stuff
Special election results in Tennessee offer a significant sigh of relief for Republicans...but still a bleak 2026 midterm election: Live Results: Tennessee 7th Congressional District special election | PBS News
(The reason it's both a sigh of relief and a bleak forecast is that the Republican won by about 9 points in a district that Trump won by 22...but the last polling had the election much tighter, as close as 2%. My prediction was the Republican would win by 5%. At 9%, that's a pretty good day for the GOP in this environment. But of course this was a very flawed Dem candidate: very far left and on the record saying she hated Nashville and country music. That might work when running for office in Detroit but not in this race (in and near Nashville).
.
It's an unkind metaphor but it's the beginning of rats leaving the sinking ship...which is really the Trump ship: Elise Stefanik is Johnson’s latest challenge as he struggles to keep control of the House - POLITICO
.
A good read (that I won't cover on the show): A Man Should Know: How To Say Thank You
.
This is quite incredible: Michael and Susan Dell donate $6.25 billion to encourage families to claim 'Trump Accounts' | AP News
Michael Dell pledges $6.25 billion to fund Trump Accounts for 25 million kids
.
Every little bit of pushback against the climate grift is welcome: Zillow Removes Climate Risk Scores From Home Listings - The New York Times
.
This isn't surprising: Smartphones at age 12 linked to worse health
.
Seriously? Survey: 1 in 3 Gen Z Workers Admit to Yelling At Their Boss
.
More economic mixed signals: Strong start to online holiday shopping masks signs of a fragile U.S. consumer | Reuters
Important to note (politically as well as economically) that it seems people may have spent more money to buy fewer things due to tariffs (and non-tariff inflation): U.S. online Black Friday spending hit a record $11.8 billion, rising 9.1% from a year earlier
Related: American Consumers Lose Patience With High Car Prices - WSJ
.
Is this really the responsibility of the federal taxpayer? Well, at least the Trump administration significantly cut the cost: Colorado awarded $420.6M by federal government — nearly half of original grant — for fast rural internet service - The Colorado Sun
.
I realize there's a lot of skepticism of "experts" around today, but they really do exist. And I don't love it when they leave due to knowing that political appointees are going to make political decisions about things that shouldn't be decided that way: The FDA’s top drug regulator submits his resignation to the agency - POLITICO
Top drug regulator Richard Pazdur set to leave the FDA | STAT
.
They're definitely not moving to Colorado the way they used to...but it's not just us: Fewer people are moving — and it may be reshaping America
Hard to sell a home for less than a significant price, or "too high" a price if it means you're going to give up a 3% mortgage and need a 6% (or higher) mortgage for the next place, so this lock-in effect persists. Sellers are yanking their homes off the market as delistings jump 28%
.
Trump goes on quite a rampage against Somali immigrants in Minnesota. Some of what he said is true. A lot of people will scream about this -- the NY Times already called it "an unapologetically bigoted tirade": -- and I get that the language is aggressive but, again, there's more than a little truth here and I think a lot of folks are generally supportive of Trump's position. Even the NY Times is reporting it now, after Chris Rufo broke the story: How Fraud Swamped Minnesota’s Social Services System on Tim Walz’s Watch - The New York Times