Much of his J6 pardons are bad but honestly the cancelling of flights for 1,600 Afghan refugees who'd already been vetted just seems small and unnecessary. I'm sure it'll play with with an element of the base but it's bad policy and likely bad politics.
Chris, this just made me sick. Yes, Trump said he would do it, he campaigned on it and not surprised. Yet, to actually see it happen, it’s a gut punch. The horror of J6 will forever be etched in my mind, as will it be for so many others. Disgraceful act.
At the same time Trump was putting hundreds of violent felons on the streets of America, Chris was calling "shameful" a brotherly act of compassion by President Biden. President Biden took Trump's words seriously and moved to protect siblings who had done nothing wrong whatsoever. And with that move and Chris' words, he has lost me forever. My subscription is paid into April but my time is not worth being spent reading Chris' ongoing verbal assault on President Biden and, more recently, Jennifer Rubin. I can only conclude that somewhere along the way Chris thought he was the victim of a slight from both President Biden and Ms. Rubin. Jen's new Substack location, The Contrarian, has grown like a Los Angeles wildfire in just a week. You can find me there.
I do want to thank all of the people who have read my comments and sent nice messages my way during my time as a So What subscriber. I want you to know that I have followed Chris' work from his years at the WaPo to CNN and to So What. But, as stated previously, Chris' thoughts are no longer worthy of the time of this aging American.
Biden was far from being a perfect president and Chris is pointing out what he feels are his faults / mistakes. I do not like Trump, but I do feel Biden failed us in the end!
Biden’s pardons were a nothing-burger. They will not be some legacy taint as Chris wrote yesterday. That viewpoint was based on looking at politics pre-Trump.
The big taint on his legacy will be him deciding to run for reelection, which directly led, in my opinion, to the election of Trump
I would just say we shouldn’t be surprised, he said he was gonna do it. He meant it when he said it. He did it. No hypocrisy. You may disagree, but he campaigned on it. People elected him with that knowledge when they were at the polls.
His VP said just a few days ago that "that the pardon question is “very simple,” saying those who “protested peacefully” should be pardoned and “if you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned."
Trump also said (in 2016) that he would build a big beautiful wall that Mexico would pay for. Also that he would invest billions into infrastructure, repeal and replace Obamacare, eliminate the federal debt, etc. The promise to pardon all the J6 thugs was one promise I hoped he would break.
All of those other promises depended on support from external actors. The pardon power does not. If he can do it with "a pen and a phine," you best believe he's going to - as he cheekily promised early on, he'll be a dictator on the first day, and he stuck to that promise. Once he gets his pardons and EOs out of the way, I think we'll start seeing broken promises once more.
I don't believe the President can unilaterally stop funding Ukraine, so that falls under depending on support from external forces, as do bacon prices. Bacon prices in particular are much bigger than government policy in general. Government can always make the market worse, but there's little it can do to make it better.
The tariffs are a fair point, but I don't think he's done with his EOs yet! Stand by on that one.
It is the only way I can keep my sanity. Believe him when he says something, he will do it. And if people complain, I remind them of the fact, they voted for a known quantity. They are getting what they wanted.
Also, recent polls from many sources found that over 60% did not agree with pardons for Jan 6 perpetrators.
He did this just to make the crimes he did on Jan 6, and with fake electors, and with pressuring state officials to change legitamite vote totals to favor him, to make it look like he was innocent too.
And sure, "it was needed" to do what exactly? To release violent criminals onto the streets? And make politucal violence protected going forward, as long as the violence is in support of maga? How un-American can you be?
Well, last time he ran on building a wall and Mexico paying for it, and how did that work out? this time, he ran on lowering grocery prices, (which he walked back right after the election - “when things are up, it’s hard to bring them down”), and he’d end the Ukraine war in 24 hours. Well there’s still 2 1/2 hours. Oh, wait - walked that back too. Now, might be 6 months.
He also said he would bring law and order. Pardoning those who committed violence, and all those who plead guilty undermines law and order and wipes out 4 years of work by the Justice Dept and courts across the land to enforce law and order. And it gives a green light to commit political violence as long as the perpetrators are maga. Which is the opposite of law and order.
This is true. But if Trump begins to hurt those Americans who did not vote for him, there is likely going to be a reckoning. He CAN’T just Make America Great Again for Republicans, red states or white Christian males. This is a Republic, not a monarchy or a dictatorship. Trump was elected by a minority number of voting Americans.
Seems Trump just grabbed Lady Justice by the, well, you know. His executive orders were, in large part, to undo all of the good things Pres. Biden did but his action on the Jan. 6 rioters/insurrectionists/traitors is unconscionable. His first day showed the hell we're in for.
Instant brownshirts. Those folks will have an undying loyalty to the fella for whom they rioted, and who, by releasing them, named their cause righteous. These are thugs, criminals, white nationalists, and stupid acolytes now unleashed on the United States. Thanks, TrumpMusk.
I love how Republicans try to justify Trump's actions by saying Americans voted for Trump, as if ALL Americans did. God forbid they actually say something truthful or accurate. And learn how to use a pronoun, such as 'half' or 'some'. Idiots.
Thank you for using words like “dangerous” rather than indulgent words like “kooky”, “nutty”, etc. Trump is a threat to us all. It’s long past time to take this threat seriously. Words matter.
The analogy is this: Americans have elected the mob boss and now the crime family is reaping the rewards. The point at which the 67% of voting Americans who did not vote for Trump are negativity impacted by Trump’s behavior will be the point of reckoning. That may take a week. That might take 4 years. Who knows. But at this point, what either political party does is irrelevant. With the exception of Jeffries who can stop legislation and attorneys AG or civil who will sue the administration on each an every executive action.
Hmmmmm....pardoning those that assaulted police and engaged in an actual, once in America's history insurrection is "dangerous", but not also "SHAMEFUL" and how about "disgraceful"...and "Anti-American" and "unprecedented abuse of power"????
Nice try, Chris in lamely trying to balance the shameful post yesterday chastising President Biden's preemptive pardons that "looked bad" while ignoring the fact that It is SHAMEFUL that pardons that President Biden did ARE EVEN NECESSARY!!
Trump did what he promised to do with the J6 traitors. There is ZERO reason to doubt that he will do what he also promised to seek “vengeance” and “retribution” to go after his perceived enemies....hence President Biden's preemptive pardons.
The issue I have is that the lame effort by the "media" at "bothsiderim" which barely distinguishes the exponential HUGE differences between these two uses of pardon power.
The false equivalence is a grave disservice to our collective intelligence and journalistic integrity.
Just think. This is what Trump did on DAY ONE!!!
Ignoring that he already violated his oath of office on DAY ONE, to "...preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" when he actually used an executive order to shit on and unilaterally REPEAL the 14th Amendment in his obsession with getting rid of "birthright citizenship".
This is the OPPOSITE of "...preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States"
Trump II is going to be a LOT worse than anyone can imagine.
I agree completely. In effect, trump is putting his goon squad back on the streets. he can call them up anytime, and they know they can do anything he asks, because he will pardon them. And thanks to the bought and paid for SCOTUS, he can call them to do anything he wants and he has immunity.
I'm not surprised. But I am profoundly disappointed. Struggling to understand what I as one person can do with all this information -- I read up and follow politics like some people follow sports. But that has no impact. Guess I'm going to write a lot of emails to my Congressional delegation.
Much of his J6 pardons are bad but honestly the cancelling of flights for 1,600 Afghan refugees who'd already been vetted just seems small and unnecessary. I'm sure it'll play with with an element of the base but it's bad policy and likely bad politics.
Chris, this just made me sick. Yes, Trump said he would do it, he campaigned on it and not surprised. Yet, to actually see it happen, it’s a gut punch. The horror of J6 will forever be etched in my mind, as will it be for so many others. Disgraceful act.
At the same time Trump was putting hundreds of violent felons on the streets of America, Chris was calling "shameful" a brotherly act of compassion by President Biden. President Biden took Trump's words seriously and moved to protect siblings who had done nothing wrong whatsoever. And with that move and Chris' words, he has lost me forever. My subscription is paid into April but my time is not worth being spent reading Chris' ongoing verbal assault on President Biden and, more recently, Jennifer Rubin. I can only conclude that somewhere along the way Chris thought he was the victim of a slight from both President Biden and Ms. Rubin. Jen's new Substack location, The Contrarian, has grown like a Los Angeles wildfire in just a week. You can find me there.
I do want to thank all of the people who have read my comments and sent nice messages my way during my time as a So What subscriber. I want you to know that I have followed Chris' work from his years at the WaPo to CNN and to So What. But, as stated previously, Chris' thoughts are no longer worthy of the time of this aging American.
Biden was far from being a perfect president and Chris is pointing out what he feels are his faults / mistakes. I do not like Trump, but I do feel Biden failed us in the end!
Biden’s pardons were a nothing-burger. They will not be some legacy taint as Chris wrote yesterday. That viewpoint was based on looking at politics pre-Trump.
The big taint on his legacy will be him deciding to run for reelection, which directly led, in my opinion, to the election of Trump
I would just say we shouldn’t be surprised, he said he was gonna do it. He meant it when he said it. He did it. No hypocrisy. You may disagree, but he campaigned on it. People elected him with that knowledge when they were at the polls.
Fair enough.
His VP said just a few days ago that "that the pardon question is “very simple,” saying those who “protested peacefully” should be pardoned and “if you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned."
This may be the first time JD Vance has said something that was LESS cringey than Trump.
Yes! And, it was based on reality and decency, a novel approach for JD.
Trump also said (in 2016) that he would build a big beautiful wall that Mexico would pay for. Also that he would invest billions into infrastructure, repeal and replace Obamacare, eliminate the federal debt, etc. The promise to pardon all the J6 thugs was one promise I hoped he would break.
All of those other promises depended on support from external actors. The pardon power does not. If he can do it with "a pen and a phine," you best believe he's going to - as he cheekily promised early on, he'll be a dictator on the first day, and he stuck to that promise. Once he gets his pardons and EOs out of the way, I think we'll start seeing broken promises once more.
Well, the war in Ukraine is still going on and it's been a day, so there is another. And no tariffs on day 1, so there is a 3rd.
I'll stop by the grocery store to see if bacon has gotten cheaper.
I don't believe the President can unilaterally stop funding Ukraine, so that falls under depending on support from external forces, as do bacon prices. Bacon prices in particular are much bigger than government policy in general. Government can always make the market worse, but there's little it can do to make it better.
The tariffs are a fair point, but I don't think he's done with his EOs yet! Stand by on that one.
We can only hope.....
Amen.
It is the only way I can keep my sanity. Believe him when he says something, he will do it. And if people complain, I remind them of the fact, they voted for a known quantity. They are getting what they wanted.
Also, recent polls from many sources found that over 60% did not agree with pardons for Jan 6 perpetrators.
He did this just to make the crimes he did on Jan 6, and with fake electors, and with pressuring state officials to change legitamite vote totals to favor him, to make it look like he was innocent too.
No % was needed. Just 1 person following through on what he campaigned on.
He campaigned on "fixing everything" too. Do you actually believe that?
His own VP said a few days ago that "obviously those that committed violence should not be pardoned."
And let me amend that, he said he would "fix everything. And very quickly." And I suppose you believe that, lol
And sure, "it was needed" to do what exactly? To release violent criminals onto the streets? And make politucal violence protected going forward, as long as the violence is in support of maga? How un-American can you be?
Getting his stormtroopers ready.
It appears so, his loyal troopers. It's sickening.
Well, last time he ran on building a wall and Mexico paying for it, and how did that work out? this time, he ran on lowering grocery prices, (which he walked back right after the election - “when things are up, it’s hard to bring them down”), and he’d end the Ukraine war in 24 hours. Well there’s still 2 1/2 hours. Oh, wait - walked that back too. Now, might be 6 months.
He also said he would bring law and order. Pardoning those who committed violence, and all those who plead guilty undermines law and order and wipes out 4 years of work by the Justice Dept and courts across the land to enforce law and order. And it gives a green light to commit political violence as long as the perpetrators are maga. Which is the opposite of law and order.
This is true. But if Trump begins to hurt those Americans who did not vote for him, there is likely going to be a reckoning. He CAN’T just Make America Great Again for Republicans, red states or white Christian males. This is a Republic, not a monarchy or a dictatorship. Trump was elected by a minority number of voting Americans.
Still reprehensible
Sorry the people don't decide the laws Lawyers courts and laws do
To justify this because he said he was going to do it is just complicity
Why DO you hate America? Are you another MAGAt on Putin's payroll?
Disgusted? Yes. Surprised? Not at all. The worst part is that executive orders can be challenged in court, but pardons can’t.
Seems Trump just grabbed Lady Justice by the, well, you know. His executive orders were, in large part, to undo all of the good things Pres. Biden did but his action on the Jan. 6 rioters/insurrectionists/traitors is unconscionable. His first day showed the hell we're in for.
Instant brownshirts. Those folks will have an undying loyalty to the fella for whom they rioted, and who, by releasing them, named their cause righteous. These are thugs, criminals, white nationalists, and stupid acolytes now unleashed on the United States. Thanks, TrumpMusk.
I love how Republicans try to justify Trump's actions by saying Americans voted for Trump, as if ALL Americans did. God forbid they actually say something truthful or accurate. And learn how to use a pronoun, such as 'half' or 'some'. Idiots.
Thank you for using words like “dangerous” rather than indulgent words like “kooky”, “nutty”, etc. Trump is a threat to us all. It’s long past time to take this threat seriously. Words matter.
The analogy is this: Americans have elected the mob boss and now the crime family is reaping the rewards. The point at which the 67% of voting Americans who did not vote for Trump are negativity impacted by Trump’s behavior will be the point of reckoning. That may take a week. That might take 4 years. Who knows. But at this point, what either political party does is irrelevant. With the exception of Jeffries who can stop legislation and attorneys AG or civil who will sue the administration on each an every executive action.
Hmmmmm....pardoning those that assaulted police and engaged in an actual, once in America's history insurrection is "dangerous", but not also "SHAMEFUL" and how about "disgraceful"...and "Anti-American" and "unprecedented abuse of power"????
Nice try, Chris in lamely trying to balance the shameful post yesterday chastising President Biden's preemptive pardons that "looked bad" while ignoring the fact that It is SHAMEFUL that pardons that President Biden did ARE EVEN NECESSARY!!
Trump did what he promised to do with the J6 traitors. There is ZERO reason to doubt that he will do what he also promised to seek “vengeance” and “retribution” to go after his perceived enemies....hence President Biden's preemptive pardons.
The issue I have is that the lame effort by the "media" at "bothsiderim" which barely distinguishes the exponential HUGE differences between these two uses of pardon power.
The false equivalence is a grave disservice to our collective intelligence and journalistic integrity.
Just think. This is what Trump did on DAY ONE!!!
Ignoring that he already violated his oath of office on DAY ONE, to "...preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" when he actually used an executive order to shit on and unilaterally REPEAL the 14th Amendment in his obsession with getting rid of "birthright citizenship".
This is the OPPOSITE of "...preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States"
Trump II is going to be a LOT worse than anyone can imagine.
I think some of us can imagine it, hence the anger and disgust.
"...the rule of law can be ignored if you are a supporter of Donald Trump." Absolutely, Chris, thank you for your article on this today.
This feels like the novel 1984 come to life.
Written in 1948. Just sayin'.
I agree completely. In effect, trump is putting his goon squad back on the streets. he can call them up anytime, and they know they can do anything he asks, because he will pardon them. And thanks to the bought and paid for SCOTUS, he can call them to do anything he wants and he has immunity.
It’s the era of “rule by the lawless,” thanks to CJ Roberts
I'm not surprised. But I am profoundly disappointed. Struggling to understand what I as one person can do with all this information -- I read up and follow politics like some people follow sports. But that has no impact. Guess I'm going to write a lot of emails to my Congressional delegation.