Mitt Romney on today's Republican Party
CBS NewsOCT 26
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 citizen of America.
The anti-Trump Romney is right, but for the wrong reasons: the charges that Trump face are a partisan charade that should never have been pursued. All throughout the legal system, from the Justice Department to the New York prosecutors, anti-Trump fanatics have made it their mission to put him behind bars. While these cases are indeed a sham, the fix was in against the former President from the get-go.
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.
There is a 54% chance that Donald Trump will be convicted of a felony before the 2024 presidential election, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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