Recently Donald Trump issued a constitutional presidential pardon on a former sheriff who was convicted for contempt of court. Naturally the leftists in the US, like always, went completely crazy about it, as if Trump had made a heinous crime against society by pardoning a convicted criminal.
But here's some perspective:
Firstly, presidential pardons are always issued for convicted criminals, by the very constitutional definition. Such pardons do not apply to anybody else. So it's not like it was somehow highly unusual for him to pardon a convicted criminal.
Secondly, and most importantly, presidential pardons in the United States are extremely common!
Gerald Ford issued 382 presidential pardons.
Jimmy Carter issued 534.
Ronald Reagan issued 393.
George H.W. Bush issued 94.
Bill Clinton issued 396.
George W. Bush issued 189.
Barack Obama issued 212.
Can you guess how many presidential pardons Trump has issued so far?
One.
And of course the regressive left went crazy, as if this were extremely unusual, a complete abuse of power, and some kind of crime against humanity.
And it's not like this pardon was somehow for an especially heinous criminal. As mentioned, the former sheriff, who's 85 years old, was convicted for contempt of court. A crime, for sure, but not especially heinous nor against humanity. Among those other pardons I listed above by other presidents is at least one self-confessed terrorist convicted of several terrorist attacks (Oscar Rivera, pardoned by Barack Obama.)
It really doesn't matter what Trump does, even if he does the exact same thing that all presidents before him have done. When Trump does it, it's immediately somehow a crime against humanity, abuse of power, and a sign that he's going to create a totalitarian regime. He could literally read out loud the US Constitution, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, verbatim, and the leftists would interpret that as a crime against humanity and a sign that he's going to exterminate all muslims and mexicans (and the reporters of CNN.)
But here's some perspective:
Firstly, presidential pardons are always issued for convicted criminals, by the very constitutional definition. Such pardons do not apply to anybody else. So it's not like it was somehow highly unusual for him to pardon a convicted criminal.
Secondly, and most importantly, presidential pardons in the United States are extremely common!
Gerald Ford issued 382 presidential pardons.
Jimmy Carter issued 534.
Ronald Reagan issued 393.
George H.W. Bush issued 94.
Bill Clinton issued 396.
George W. Bush issued 189.
Barack Obama issued 212.
Can you guess how many presidential pardons Trump has issued so far?
One.
And of course the regressive left went crazy, as if this were extremely unusual, a complete abuse of power, and some kind of crime against humanity.
And it's not like this pardon was somehow for an especially heinous criminal. As mentioned, the former sheriff, who's 85 years old, was convicted for contempt of court. A crime, for sure, but not especially heinous nor against humanity. Among those other pardons I listed above by other presidents is at least one self-confessed terrorist convicted of several terrorist attacks (Oscar Rivera, pardoned by Barack Obama.)
It really doesn't matter what Trump does, even if he does the exact same thing that all presidents before him have done. When Trump does it, it's immediately somehow a crime against humanity, abuse of power, and a sign that he's going to create a totalitarian regime. He could literally read out loud the US Constitution, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, verbatim, and the leftists would interpret that as a crime against humanity and a sign that he's going to exterminate all muslims and mexicans (and the reporters of CNN.)
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