5/9/24, 10:14 AM No, Gitmo's status doesn't prove Biden isn't president | Fact check

FACT CHECK Fact Check Add Topic

False claim that Gitmo remaining open

proves Biden isn't really president | Fact
check
Gabrielle Settles
USA TODAY
Published 2:20 p.m. ET May 8, 2024

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The claim: Biden can't give an executive order

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to close Guantanamo Bay because he's not

the president
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A May 5 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a flight
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purportedly heading to the U.S. from the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba.

“Special Forces coming back from the Spa better known as Gitmo," the post reads. "The
place 'Biden' campaigned he would close but can’t because he’s not President by LAW.”
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“Executive Order 13823 was an Order that revoked Obama’s EO to close Gitmo. If
(commander in chief) Trump can revoke an order, how come 'Biden' can’t do the same?”
the post continues.

The post was shared more than 100 times in two days. Other versions of the claim
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circulated on Facebook as well.

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5/9/24, 10:14 AM No, Gitmo's status doesn't prove Biden isn't president | Fact check

Our rating: False

There's ample evidence showing that Joe Biden is president. Although he has not signed an
executive order to shut down the detention center, Biden has signed more than 100 other
orders during his presidency.

Biden has signed more than 100 executive

orders as of May
The Facebook post references Executive Order 13823, signed by former President Donald
Trump in 2018. Trump ordered the detention center, which has a history of inhumane
treatment of detainees, to remain open.
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The post is correct that Biden campaigned in 2020 on a promise to shut down the
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detention center, which has not happened. Just days after former President Barack Obama
took office in 2009, he signed an executive order to have the prison shut down within a
year. That plan also failed due to what Obama said was a lack of congressional support.
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But the fact that it hasn't adblocker. USA Today.
closed since Biden took office doesn't mean he's not president.

During his time in office, Biden has signed 138 executive orders as of May 6, according to
Ballotpedia, none related to shutting down the detention center. He has conducted all
manner of actions in keeping with his role, including representing the country
internationally, commanding the military and signing bills into law.
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Biden won the presidential election in November 2020 with 306 electoral votes to Trump's
232. The swearing-in ceremony at the Jan. 20, 2021, inauguration marked the transfer of
power between the Trump and Biden administrations.

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protests

A total of about 780 detainees have been held at the Guantanamo Bay facility since it
opened in 2002, The New York Times reported. About 30 remain.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/05/08/biden-gitmo-guantanamo-bay-executive-order-fact-check/73602939007/ 2/3
5/9/24, 10:15 AM No, Gitmo's status doesn't prove Biden isn't president | Fact check

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not
immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

Britannica, accessed May 7, Guantánamo Bay detention camp
The American Presidency Project, accessed May 6, Executive Order 13823—Protecting
America Through Lawful Detention of Terrorists
NPR, Feb. 12, 2021, Biden Administration Aims To Close Guantanamo Bay Prison
NPR, Jan. 11, Guantánamo Bay is still open. This week, pressure ramped up to close it
PBS, Jan. 14, 2021, Why Obama failed to close Guantanamo
PBS, Jan. 10, 2022, Joe Biden’s silence on Guantanamo Bay frustrates closure
advocates as prison turns 20
It looks
Ballotpedia, accessed May likeBiden's
7, Joe you'reexecutive
using an orders
adblocker.
and actions
Biden Inaugural Committee Please(YouTube), Jan. 20,
support us by turning 2021,
off your The Inauguration of Joe Biden
adblocker.
and Kamala Harris | Jan. 20th, 2021

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