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Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 28, 2021(AP) Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 28, 2021(AP)

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 28, 2021(AP)

Gabrielle Settles
By Gabrielle Settles June 24, 2021

There's no Trump cease-and-desist order against vaccines

If Your Time is short

  • President Joe Biden won the election and is the legal president, not Donald Trump. 

  • There is no cease-and-desist order against the COVID-19 vaccines.

See the sources for this fact-check

TikTok users are sharing an audio recording of a woman telling people to share false information about former President Donald Trump.

According to the audio, "a lot of stuff went down over Memorial weekend" — including the installation of a new (yet familiar) president and a halt to the nation’s vaccination effort.

"The main thing that I want to let you know, and I want y’all to share it and get the information out there — President Trump, and we know he’s the legal president. He was acknowledged by General Flynn and the military as the Commander in Chief of the United States republic," the audio says.

The audio recording continues, "Our legal president, President Trump, has signed a cease and desist order for the COVID vaccines." 

TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact's partnership with TikTok.)

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The recording makes ridiculous claims.

First, Biden won the election and is the "legal" president. Biden remains in power since his January inauguration.

Biden won 306 electoral votes in total to Trump’s 232, which is less than the required 270 or higher needed to win. Congress formally certified the electoral results on Jan. 6, despite the storming of the Capitol that day by rioters who supported Trump’s false claims of fraud.

A Defense Department duty officer refuted the first portion of the TikTok claim, stating that Biden is the commander in chief. 

We looked and did not find any record of Trump issuing such an order against COVID-19 vaccines, when he was president, or since. A press officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was unaware of any cease-and-desist order or letters from Trump. 

As for the TikTok post making wild claims about Trump and the vaccine cease-and-desist order, we rate that Pants on Fire!

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