Biden hands off duties: Harris endorsed, conspiracy theories rise
Joe Biden signed a document in which he delegates his powers, meaning he is not performing presidential duties. "It's over for him" - this is another conspiracy theory being spread on American social media and repeated by Russian propagandists.
9:54 AM EDT, July 24, 2024
Since July 21, Joe Biden decided not to seek reelection and endorsed Kamala Harris, new fake news about the American president keeps appearing online.
This time, it's about a document (Memorandum on the Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities Under the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act), in which on July 22, the president delegated his executive powers regarding the rebuilding of Ukraine to the Secretaries of Treasury and State.
The publication of this memorandum triggered a flood of comments online. Among other things, it's being said that the sudden abdication of executive powers is not a good sign, as it indicates that the president is no longer in control; that he has been sidelined; or even, perhaps, that he is dead. Such claims are unfounded.
A presidential address is set for the evening of July 24, where he is expected to explain why he is not running for reelection. Meanwhile, the president signing the memorandum delegating the task of implementing the law passed by Congress, namely the REPO Act (which allows the US administration to confiscate billions of dollars' worth of Russian assets and transfer them to Ukraine for rebuilding), is a regular and normal practice.
According to Joshua Kennedy from Georgia Southern University, a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Studies, every American president decides to delegate his powers hundreds of times.
Kennedy explained to the #FakeHunter service there are plenty of presidential orders and memoranda delegating powers to U.S. government officials. It's a routine action and says absolutely nothing about the president not performing his duties. Donald Trump also signed similar memoranda when he was president, as Kennedy reminded.
Expert on governing through memoranda
Conversely, Professor Philip J. Cooper from Portland State University, author of the book "By Order of the President," confirmed in an interview with the #FakeHunter service that there is nothing extraordinary about governing through delegating memoranda, and also reminded that the process of relinquishing power by the president is defined in the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution and the conditions for it to be invoked have not been met.
According to data from the American government monitor (Federal Register), as of July 21, 2024, President Biden signed 195 presidential memoranda, delegating his specific powers to his cabinet officials.
