On Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gave his clearest answer yet when asked if he would pardon former President Donald Trump, as president, were Trump to be convicted on any of the multiple criminal charges he faces. The former president faces 91 charges across four criminal cases, including 44 federal charges and 47 state charges, all of which are felonies.
The question was posed to the governor, who is running far behind Trump in the 2024 US presidential election, during a campaign event in the US state of Iowa on Friday.
"I think we got to move on as a country and, you know, like Ford did to Nixon, because the divisions are just not in the country’s interest," said DeSantis.
And when asked specifically if would pardon Trump as president, DeSantis added: “Yeah, I said that months ago.”
But the governor did not explicitly say he would pardon Trump as president “months ago”, he only narrowly suggested it during an interview with a right-leaning American news company. During that interview in July he said “sending” Trump to jail wouldn't be “good” for the country.
“Well, what I’ve said is very simple. I’m going to do what’s right for the country," DeSantis said in July. "I don’t think it would be good for the country to have an almost 80-year-old former president go to prison."
Those sentiments echoed comments the governor made in May, when he said he would consider pardoning insurrectionists who took part in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
DeSantis’ comments come at a time when the former president's GOP opponents are desperately trying to get ahead in a race that seems fatefully decided. A recent primary poll for the Republican party showed Trump with 61.2% of the votes, Ron DeSantis with 11.7%, and Nikki Haley with 11.0%.
Haley---who has been nearly tied with DeSantis in the primary polls for weeks---followed suit, and said she would also pardon Trump. The former UN ambassador made her comment at a campaign event in New Hampshire on Thursday.
"I would pardon Trump if he is found guilty," Haley said in response to a question from the audience.
"A leader needs to think about what's in the best interests of the country. What's in the best interests of the country is not to have an 80-year-old man sitting in jail that continues to divide our country. What’s in the best interest of the country would be to pardon him so that we can move on as a country and no longer talk about him," the former UN ambassador said.
On top of his legal troubles, Trump is facing new challenges.
Recently, Maine became the second state to strike the former president from their Republican primary ballot. The decision, made by Maine’s Secretary of State, came a week after Colorado's Supreme Court made a similar decision, citing section 3 of the 14 Amendment for Trump's role in the January 6 attack.
However, Maine’s decision can still be appealed to the state’s judicial supreme court. And Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling has now made its way to the US Supreme Court.
On Thursday, Colorado’s Secretary of State said that with Trump’s appeal filed, he will be included as a candidate on the state’s primary ballot unless the US Supreme Court declines to hear the case, or upholds the state’s decision. The US Supreme Court is made up of a majority of conservative justices, three of which were appointed by Trump himself.