Mitt Romney on today's Republican Party
CBSMAY 2023
Sen. Romney Says Biden Should Have Pardoned Trump
Above: Sen. Mitt Romney at the US Capitol on May 31, 2023 Image copyright: Kevin Dietsch/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
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 American citizen.
Pro-Trump narrative
The anti-Trump Romney is right but for the wrong reasons: the charges that Trump faces are a partisan charade that should never have been pursued. At the federal and state levels, politically motivated prosecutors — either directly from Biden's administration or Biden supporters in New York — have persecuted Trump. These trials were fixed from the start for the sole purpose of crushing Biden's opponent.
Narrative C
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.