Sen. Romney Says Biden Should Have Pardoned Trump

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Facts

  • US Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) argued Wednesday that Pres. Joe Biden should have pardoned former Pres. Donald Trump, adding that he 'made an enormous error' by not pressuring New York prosecutors to drop the ongoing hush-money case.1
  • Speaking to MSNBC, Romney said that he would have 'immediately pardoned' Trump after the Justice Department brought federal charges against him, saying the US doesn't want to 'go through' prosecuting a former president.2
  • While also saying that it would be magnanimous for the president to pardon the 'little guy,' Romney called Trump's legal cases in New York a 'win-win' for the former president.3
  • The former president and presumptive GOP nominee is facing four indictments, two of which are federal. While the president can only pardon federal crimes, Romney said he would have also pressured state officials to drop their cases.3
  • Romney, a noted critic of Trump, also took aim at the former president and his allies for how they've handled his legal cases, calling their shows of support for him at the Manhattan courthouse 'demeaning.'4
  • The Senator also said that it is unlikely the federal charges related to the 2020 election and his handling of classified information will be resolved by this year's presidential election, saying that the focus should be on issues such as the economy instead.5

Sources: 1NBC, 2Guardian, 3USA Today, 4CNN and 5thehill.com.

Narratives

  • Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by Washington Post. In this display of armchair quarterbacking, Romney neglects to mention that such an action would irreparably destroy the rule of law in America and send a message to Trump and his supporters that the country will simply forgive and forget his crimes while further emboldening MAGA zealotry. Trump's abuses of power were grave, and he must face the music like any other American citizen.
  • Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Newsweek. The anti-Trump Romney is right but for the wrong reasons: the charges that Trump faces are a partisan charade that should never have been pursued. At the federal and state levels, politically motivated prosecutors — either directly from Biden's administration or Biden supporters in New York — have persecuted Trump. These trials were fixed from the start for the sole purpose of crushing Biden's opponent.
  • Narrative C, as provided by politico.com. It is incumbent on Biden to try and turn down the temperature on the partisan rage that has possessed this country since Trump entered the political scene, and a pardon could have been the perfect measure. A wide swath of the population will never accept the legitimacy of the charges, and that anger could erupt with disastrous consequences and heighten division. A pardon could have snuffed out the resentment that powers Trump's 2024 campaign.

Predictions