Will Biden Pardon Trump?

It's time for Democrats to recognize the moment we're in

Yes. That was Congressman Jim Clyburn advocating for President Joe Biden to pardon Donald Trump before leaving office.

Let me just begin as diplomatically as I can. The mere suggestion that Trump should be rewarded for committing crimes is absolute fucking cowardly horseshit. I mean…WHY? Why should we embolden the one person on the planet who has been nothing but hostile to every facet of our democracy? I am so unbelievably tired of Democrats feeling like they have to excuse the corruption of Republicans. They are not children!

In fact, they’re the Party of Law & Order! They’re the self-proclaimed Party of the Constitution! Of personal responsibility. Yet rather than hold them accountable for flagrantly breaking the law and discarding our Constitution, Democrats like Clyburn feel some—I don’t know—inherent obligation to excuse their behavior. Doing so not only lends credence to the idea that they’re above the law…it emboldens them to continue breaking it.

If someone can point me to a single instance where Trump has moderated his corruption by virtue of getting away with his crimes…I’d love to see it. The reality is that it’s not happening, and the reason that it’s not happening, in part, is because Trump and his cronies know that their failsafe is always some Democrat suggesting they be excused for wrongful or illegal behavior, in deference to this elusive idea of UNITY.

Look, I’m all for unity. We all want a functioning government. But does anyone actually believe that letting Trump get away with criminal behavior is not going to simply foster more of it? Unity is a noble motive to advocate for…in theory. Expecting it to manifest in practice is foolish. It will never happen. Not under this steward’s watch.

Trump has already nominated people to the DOJ whose unabashed stated goals are to deliver retribution on his behalf. He recklessly tapped a lackey who fancies himself some kind of vengeance-warrior to be our next FBI Director. This utter nightmare of a nominee, Kash Patel, published in his book an enemies list of “corrupt actors” who should be removed from the “deep state.” Trump, just last weekend, stated that the members of the January 6 Committee should go to jail.

That is the context of our present moment.

So when Jim Clyburn pushes for unity, that’s all well and good, but please map out, with one single proof point, how pardoning Trump would deliver that goal. Is Trump barreling ahead with plans to deport 11 million people, including American citizens, an indication of unity on the horizon? Is promising businesses that they’ll be able to avoid environmental regulations an indication of unity on the horizon? Is openly seeking to dismantle our civil workforce and replace them with Trump loyalists an indication of unity on the horizon?

Show me one rally, one post, one smile that suggests that Donald Trump has any intention or motivation to become a president for ALL Americans, as opposed to a roaring despot. He’s been broadcasting his desire to join the big boy dictators’ club since he entered politics. Why should we help him gain entry? Because it will lead to…unity?

Trump’s recent demonstration of how he responds to gracious gestures.

Democrats need to get over the idea that if they offer up just one more instance of goodwill, THIS TIME it will be respected and reciprocated by those across the aisle. It just won’t. I don’t know how many more times Lucy has to pull the football away from Charlie before recognition dawns that we are not playing the same game, and not playing by the same rules.

Remember, Mitch McConnell blocked President Obama from elevating Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court with a YEAR left in office because it was “too close to election day,” yet when Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and Trump wanted Amy Coney Barrett on the Court, Republicans shoved through her confirmation as Americans were already casting early votes. Oh, and remember when AG Garland refused to prosecute Trump for nearly TWO YEARS after the former president had incited an insurrection and stole classified documents? And when the January 6th Select Committee finally shamed him into appointing Jack Smith as special prosecutor, Republicans still vilified the whole proceedings as a purported “WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT.”

How many times will the Democrats roll over and confer some measure of good faith toward Republicans before we learn our lesson? With Trump gearing up to helm the ship, he (and his trusty media) will spin any act of kindness or forgiveness as proof that he is omnipotent and we are weak. Republicans love this shit. It reassures his base. We are offering a broken message; signaling to the GOP that they can do whatever they want, commit any crimes, break any precedent, violate any norm, and at the end of that rainbow will be someone like Rep. Jim Clyburn to encourage that we pardon a criminal, to achieve a unity that somehow has never materialized.

“If we keep digging up things of the past,” Clyburn said, “I’m not too sure the country would not lose its way.”

To that, I would respond: the reason that this county has already lost its way is not due to a lack of pardons. It’s because Trump and his sycophants are committing crimes without consequence. THAT is what is undermining our Constitution and any hope for a democracy that will persevere. One would hope that such a venerated member of the Congress would be able to see that, and appreciate that lawlessness begets lawlessness. Democrats excusing Republicans—to such an extreme scale—only renders us complicit in their corruption.

Clyburn concludes by arguing that Biden pardoning Trump would demonstrate his profound love for this country. But if he loves the United States, why help the one person in our nation’s history who so violently tried to destroy it—and shows no sign of giving up on that mission? Why help the one person who prevented a peaceful transfer of power…to him, no less? Why help the one person who had so little concern for our safety, sources, methods, and agents in the field that he stored boxes of national security secrets beside a toilet in Mar-a-Lago, and refused to give them back? Why help the one person who convinced half of America with a barrage of poisonous lies that a free and fair election was rigged, so he could overturn the results? Why help the one person who tried to get state officials to send fake slates of electors? Who tried to seize voting machines? Who sought to get the military embroiled in our election? Who is currently filling his future cabinet with incompetent liars and alleged sex offenders?

If you truly love America, you don’t help THAT person. You hold him accountable.

Giving this guy a pardon doesn’t mend fences, it shows people that the law does not apply to everyone. It teaches people that—with enough disinformation—they can get away with anything. It exposes our shameless two-tiered system of justice.

Pardoning Donald Trump for trying to tear down America is not how you heal America; holding him to account for trying to tear down America is how you heal America.

Rep. Jim Clyburn is a respected member of our party, and for good reason. He just happened to perfectly articulate the Democrats’ most self-sabotaging mentality at a time when we need to be steeling ourselves for the long and bitter battles ahead. Let’s stop apologizing for bringing a gun to a gunfight. Our choices are A) fight back with all our might, or B) lose. I’m not prepared to lose, and our elected officials shouldn’t be either.

You don’t hold the door open for the Barbarians at the gates.

All that stated, our situation is not entirely lacking in silver lining. There’s a sea change happening within the Democratic Committees. Jerry Nadler is stepping down as our long-time ranking member of the House Judiciary so that Jamie Raskin can ascend to the ranking member; uncontested. He’s a fighter who understands the moment we’re in. Concurrently, AOC is seeking to ascend to the top spot on one of the most consequential and visible congressional committees, Oversight.

She’s also a fighter who understands the turbulence of these times, and is a gifted communicator about the stakes of this battle and our impetus for fighting. THAT is what we need: People who will stand up for this country’s principles, who are willing to meet the urgency of this moment, and who recognize the unique danger posed by this Republican party. Both Raskin and AOC are unapologetic about not excusing Trump’s behavior.

I can only hope that this is the beginning of a new era of Democratic officials who finally recognize what’s worth going to the mat for—and that it’s not the approval of Donald Trump.