By mid-February 2025, Trump had signed 279 executive orders (220 in first term, 59 in second), surpassing Obama’s 276 over two terms.
As U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term in the White House by signing dozens of executive orders one after another in January 2025, online users claimed that in 2012, he criticized then-President Barack Obama for issuing a large number of executive orders himself.
Users discussed this matter in February 2025, at around the same time that Trump, who began his second term by signing 59 executive orders (as of this writing) after issuing 220 in his first, surpassed Obama’s 276 total executive orders over two full terms.
According to users‘ posts sharing the supposed quote, Trump originally tweeted, “Why is Barack Obama constantly issuing executive orders that are major power grabs of authority? This is the latest.”
For example, on Feb. 9, 2025, a Reddit user on the r/therewasanattempt subreddit posted an old Twitter screenshot, prior to tech entrepreneur Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform and its transformation to X, about Trump’s attempt “to smear Barack Obama by calling executive orders power grabs.”
In our research, we concluded Trump truly tweeted the message criticizing Obama’s use of executive orders on his @realDonaldTrump Twitter account on July 10, 2012. Although numerous saves and reposts had pixelated the old Twitter screenshot image file displayed in the Reddit post, no one had manipulated it. The message still appeared as a post (archived) on Trump’s X account nearly 13 years later, although in present-day with a different linked website destination compared to the original.
Trump’s mention of “this is the latest” referenced his disagreement with an originally-linked executive order dated July 6, 2012. The order concerned ensuring the survivability of “resilient, enduring and effective communications” in order to “ensure national security, effectively manage emergencies and improve national resilience.”
More Trump executive-order contradictions
Trump’s 2012 tweet circulated again in February 2025, possibly in large part thanks to Facebook users copying and pasting a list of numerous other times Trump criticized Obama’s use of executive orders. The National Memo hosted an August 2020 article (archived) displaying the list, including featuring sources for each of the Trump quotes.
In one of the quotes from March 29, 2016, a C-SPAN video showed Trump telling a person asking a question in the crowd at a town hall meeting in Janesville, Wisconsin, “I want to not use too many executive orders, folks. You know? Because, you know, executive orders sort of came about more recently. Nobody ever heard of an executive order. Then all of a sudden, Obama, because he couldn’t get anybody to agree with him, he starts signing them like they’re butter. So, I want to do away with executive orders for the most part.”
Trump’s assertion of “nobody ever heard of an executive order” was false, seeing as U.S. presidents exercised the power in previous administrations.
According to The American Presidency Project at UC Santa Barbara, former President Joe Biden signed 162 executive orders during his one and only term, wedged between Trump’s two terms.
Other recent totals included former Presidents Ronald Reagan (381), George H.W. Bush (166 in one term), Bill Clinton (364) and George W. Bush (291).
The U.S. president who signed the most-ever executive orders was Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, with 3,721 in total.
Don Lemon knocks Obama for ‘yukking it up’ with Trump at Carter funeral
Former CNN host Don Lemon issued a scathing rebuke of former President Obama for acting “buddy-buddy” with President-elect Trump at former President Carter’s funeral.
Speaking on his YouTube channel over the weekend, Lemon accused Obama and Trump of “yukking it up together, chatting and giggling like kids on the playground.”
Lemon pointed to Trump’s history of criticizing Obama, including with the birtherism conspiracy that falsely claimed Obama was not American-born and was Muslim.
“How could Barack Obama, the man who faced vicious, racist conspiracies for years because of Trump, act so buddy-buddy with him? Does he not remember birtherism?” Lemon asked.
“Perhaps more critically, does he not remember how his entire political party has been calling the man a fascist, an autocrat, a threat to democracy for months, if not years,” he added. “People could not believe what they were seeing. Had the Democratic Party lied to them? Had Kamala Harris and Joe Biden lied to them? Is this all just a game?”
While campaigning for Vice President Harris’s 2025 presidential bid, Obama compared Trump to Adolf Hitler. He also said a second Trump presidency would be “dangerous.”
While former first lady Michelle Obama was not at Carter’s funeral, Obama and Trump were among the five living presidents to attend.
In a video of the two sitting side by side, Trump can be seen saying something that makes Obama laugh.
Harris, sitting with her husband in front of the two former presidents, can be seen glancing back before turning around without commenting to either.
Lemon said Obama may have been “just doing his duty” in being cordial with Trump at Carter’s funeral, but laughing at his jokes was “risky” and “cringey”
“Optics like this are things that Democrats have to consider going forward,” Lemon said.
“Your behavior around the man will matter,” he continued, adding that former second lady Karen Pence should not be“ a more courageous critic of Trump” than the first Black president. Pence appeared to ignore Trump at the services.
“Your outdated impulse to prioritize good relationships with your conservative colleagues at all costs has got to end,” said Lemon. “Recall, many of these men and women have spent years valorizing a violent mob that sought to kill you. Why does Karen Pence remember that but you don’t?”
Trump discusses his viral moment with Obama
Donald Trump is talking about what appeared to be a warm moment between him and Barack Obama.
Trump concedes the pair did seem to be on friendly terms when cameras captured them chatting, and Obama laughing as they sat next to each other Thursday at the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.
The president-elect was asked about it later in a Fox News interview from his home in Florida.
“It did look very friendly, I must say,” Trump said. “I didn’t realize how friendly it looked. I saw it on your wonderful network, just a little while ago before I came in and I said ‘Boy, they look like two people that like each other.’ And we probably do,” he said.
Trump didn’t say what he and Obama were talking about in the viral moment.
“We have little different philosophies, right? I don’t know, we just got along. But I got along with everybody on that. You know we met backstage before we went on, and I thought it was a beautiful service, but we all got along very well.”
Trump answered questions from Fox News’ Peter Doocy for roughly 20 minutes ahead of the president-elect’s meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago.
He again criticized state and local officials in California for their handling of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and reiterated his interest in Greenland and making Canada into the 51st state.
He didn’t have an answer on whether he supported the Biden administration’s talks with the Taliban for the release of Americans held in Afghanistan, saying he would be looking into it on Friday. Asked about recent mysterious drone sightings, he vowed to release a report the day after his inauguration “because I think it’s ridiculous they’re not telling you about the drones.”
Trump also said his team is working on scheduling meetings with several foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. He said his team has also been in communication with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Another Fox News alum invited to join the new Trump administration
Donald Trump has picked Fox News contributor Leo Terrell to serve as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department, Harmeet K. Dhillon.
Trump said Terrell, a civil rights attorney and talk radio host in California, will work closely alongside Dhillon, a former vice chair of the California GOP who represented the state on the Republican National Committee.
The president-elect also announced that former Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown would be taking a position at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Trump called Terrell a “highly respected civil rights attorney and political analyst” and said in a statement Thursday that he will be a “fantastic advocate for the American People.”
Fox News said Terrell’s contributor contract was terminated after the announcement was made.
Fox contributors set to join the new administration also include Tammy Bruce, Trump’s pick for State Department spokesperson, and Pete Hegseth, his choice to lead the Pentagon.
The president-elect also announced Thursday that he was tapping Brown to be undersecretary for memorial affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Brown, a Purple Heart recipient with a captivating personal story, narrowly lost the Nevada Senate race to incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen in November.
“He fearlessly proved his love for our Country in the Army, while leading Troops in battle in Afghanistan and, after being honorably retired as a Captain, helping our Veterans get access to emergency medications,” Trump said in a statement. “Sam will now continue his service to our Great Nation at the VA, where he will work tirelessly to ensure we put America’s Veterans FIRST, and remember ALL who served.”
Trump’s pick for Sweden ambassador didn’t clear the Senate when he nominated her the last time
Donald Trump is trying again with Christine Jack Toretti — this time nominating her to serve as the next ambassador to Sweden.
During his last administration, Trump tapped Toretti, a businesswoman and GOP fundraiser, as his pick to become the ambassador to Malta. The Senate never confirmed her, returning her nomination in 2019 and again in 2020, with Democrats questioning the quality of some of Trump’s nominees. Toretti at the time was reported to have had a restraining order filed against her for allegedly putting a bullet-riddled target sheet in the office of her ex-husband’s doctor.
In a statement Thursday, Trump called Toretti an “incredible businesswoman, philanthropist, public servant, and RNC Committeewoman for the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” touting her lengthy resume, including her role as chair of S&T Bancorp and as the former director of the Pittsburgh Federal Reserve Bank.