The GOP’s ‘pardon me’ primary

Pity Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Reelected by a landslide in November, he is on track to complete his second four-year term. According to the RealClearPolitics poll average, three weeks after his long-awaited presidential announcement, DeSantis still trails former President Trump by the same 30-point starting difference.

Interestingly, the day after his May 24 launch, DeSantis tried to close his Grand Canyon-sized polling gap with a “pardon strategy” designed to extract MAGA voters from Trump’s iron-clad grip. The Hill headline — “DeSantis says he’ll consider pardoning January 6 defendants, including Trump” — raised eyebrows for blatant pandering, but the second-place primary candidate gained no momentum.

Then on June 8 history was made when a Miami grand jury issued a federal indictment with 37 felony counts against Trump. Immediately, DeSantis criticized the political circumstances with what became the GOP’s template for Trump’s defense. Without naming the former president, DeSantis tweeted:

“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society. We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation.” 

Some would argue that the mountain of evidence showing how the former president allegedly broke the law 37 times strengthens a free society while solidifying America’s foundational principle that “no one is above the law.”

Trump surrendered to federal authorities and was arraigned at a Miami courthouse on June 13. But the bombshells dropped on June 9, when Trump’s indictment was unsealed and the explosive charges were revealed to anyone with an internet connection.

That night, while the world was abuzz with Trump’s hoarding of top-secret national security documents (reportedly including nuclear capabilities, readiness and battle plans for us, allies and enemies), DeSantis spoke before the North Carolina Republican convention. He uttered what could be considered his most honest and under-reported statement since beginning his presidential quest. But first, to better understand the gravity and political implications of his remarks, here is some background.

While a student at Harvard Law School in 2004, DeSantis was commissioned as a Navy officer, joining the Navy Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) in 2005. Thus, as a Navy lawyer, DeSantis was well-schooled in all aspects of classified material, including prosecuting personnel who removed or mishandled national secrets.

DeSantis no doubt had his JAG training on his mind when he spoke to the North Carolina GOP audience. As the New York Times reported: “Seeming to muse aloud, Mr. DeSantis asked what the Navy would have done to him had he taken classified documents while in military service. ‘I would have been court-martialed in a New York minute.’”

DeSantis’s admission, “seeming to muse aloud,” was unprompted. Moreover, if  DeSantis wins the Republican nomination, he just wrote the script for a Biden campaign ad. Furthermore, his defending Trump’s handling of classified material to win the hearts of MAGA voters makes the Florida governor appear hypocritical.

Worse, DeSantis is already on record suggesting a Jan. 6-related pardon for Trump in what is morphing into the GOP’s “pardon me primary.” Forget that our nation operates under the rule of law. In MAGA-land, twisted legal logic is “the rule” where talk of pardoning a potential convicted felon is considered politically advantageous to attract media attention and primary voters. Therefore, is pledging to pardon Trump becoming the new litmus test for primary candidates?

Consider Nikki Haley, supported by 3.6 percent of Republican primary voters. On the day Trump was arraigned in federal court, the former UN ambassador said she’s  “inclined in favor of a pardon” for Trump. Haley explained that if Trump were jailed, “That’s something you’d see in a Third World country. I saw that at the United Nations, so I would be inclined in favor of a pardon.”

Is it time for GOP candidates to start debating whether President Gerald Ford’s 1974 pardon of Richard Nixon was “good for the country”? (Ford lost the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter in part because of the Nixon pardon.)  

Then there is Vivek Ramaswamy, a primary candidate favored by under 3 percent of GOP voters. On June 8, he tweeted: “I stand for principles over politics. I commit to pardon Trump promptly on January 20, 2025 and to restore the rule of law in our country.”

However, on June 13, Ramaswamy paraded further down the pardon path, “urging” all White House contenders in both parties to follow his lead. He said, “I respectfully request that you join me in this commitment or else publicly explain why you will not.”  As if on cue, former Vice President Mike Pence explained why not.

Ramaswamy also warned that Trump’s prosecution “will permanently damage public trust in our electoral process and our justice system.” After Trump’s arraignment, Ramaswamy must have heard Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba say, “The people in charge of this country do not love America — they hate Donald Trump.”

Habba’s statement summarizes the new conundrum: If you favor prosecuting Trump, does that mean you don’t love America and are not a patriot? Is patriotism synonymous with supporting Trump?

So many unanswered questions to keep Trump where he thrives — on center stage with the world revolving around him, including the Big Kahuna: If Trump wins the GOP nomination, is convicted and reelected, can he pardon himself? The Supreme Court has never addressed that legal hornet’s nest.

The “pardon me” issue will continue to loom large, suffocating the GOP primary if Trump is indicted for Jan. 6-related federal crimes and 2020 Georgia election meddling. Will his support grow with each indictment and allow him to win the 2024 GOP nomination?

Then, “Let Trump Pardon Trump” could become the new battle cry of “patriots” showing their love for America.  

Myra Adams (@MyraKAdams) served on the creative team of two Republican presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008. She writes about politics and religion.