On the final day of his presidency, Donald Trump issued 73 pardons to free people from the various crimes they were charged with. Among the people he pardoned, two of the most newsworthy people were Lil Wayne and Steve Bannon.
Steve Bannon, a former leader of the Trump Campaign was at one point Trump’s right hand man in the oval office, however, after some differences the two had, Bannon was fired from his job and removed from the White House. Up until this day, Bannon was facing criminal charges for funneling money donated by Trump supporters, to the “We Build the Wall” campaign, for his personal use. Although Trump is now out of office, pardoning Bannon was worth it to him, as he is a witty political strategist who knows the ins and outs of the Republican Electorate. The day before the riots at the capitol in early January, Bannon was on Facebook spreading misinformation and encouraging people to go to the capitol saying, “they are trying to steal the election”. If Trump wants to somehow get back into politics, pardoning Steve Bannon and keeping him as an ally is beneficial to him, as Bannon is clearly aware of how to play and manipulate Trump’s supporters.
Another person pardoned by Trump on Tuesday was Lil Wayne, formally known as Dwayne Michael Carter, a New Orleans based rapper who was charged with illegal possession of a gun in Miami in 2019. The White House said that Carter, "exhibited this generosity through commitment to a variety of charities, including donations to research hospitals and a host of food banks". While it is true that Carter does donate money to various charities, many people suspect that it was his loyalty and praise of the Trump Administration that granted him this pardon.
At the end of the most presidencies, there is usually a wave of pardons that happen. While some presidential pardons are more controversial than others, it is clear that having some type of loyalty or use to the departing president helps your chances of being pardoned.
Do you agree with Trump’s pardons?
Should pardoning citizens be a power of the president?
1 comment:
I think Trump's pardons are controversial and not exactly necessary. I feel like the main reason Trump pardons people is for political power and not anything else. I think that a president should have the power to pardon people, but that we should have some new rules in place in order to help avoid some of the political reasons behind pardoning people of crimes. Thank you for sharing!
Post a Comment