Trump Demands Pardon Pledge from DeSantis After Indictment - Rolling Stone
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Behind the scenes, the former president has been sending his minions after Ron DeSantis, demanding he bend the knee after Trump's indictment By Adam Rawnsley, Asawin Suebsaeng June 15, 2023 
Dron
In the days since Donald Trump was indicted, his allies have had a unified demand of his GOP primary rivals: promise to pardon the Donald — or else.
It's not an accident: In the days leading up to his arraignment, the former president worked the phones to vent about the case to his allies and discuss the way forward. According to a person familiar with the matter and another source briefed on it, Trump had one repeated request for his supporters: go on TV and social media and trash Ron DeSantis for refusing to commit to pardoning Trump.
Trump's demand advances two goals: The first is to protect himself from legal consequences if he loses both the GOP primary and his federal court case. But given that Trump is telling allies he'll trounce DeSantis and all other primary challengers, the demand for a pardon pledge appears to be more a political move. The question itself offers a trap for any Republican who tries to engage with it: either side with Trump and use the occasion to keep him in the campaign spotlight or share some uncomfortable real estate on the side of Joe Biden and the Justice Department.
"If you're Ron, you find yourself really in a really tough situation, because if you blast the DOJ and you blast Jack Smith and Biden, you're essentially defending Trump and admitting Trump was right," one MAGA-aligned Republican strategist tells Rolling Stone . "If you condemn him, there's no lane for you running on that. And then silence is an equally bad option because folks notice you not saying anything."
The DeSantis campaign did not respond to Rolling Stone 's questions about the governor's position on a potential pardon.
Reached for comment, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung sent a lengthy statement accusing DeSantis of "hiding in a hole" during Trump's Tuesday indictment and of running a campaign driven by consultants.
So far, DeSantis has tried to mix condemnation of the Justice Department with silence on the subject of a pardon. On the day news of the indictment broke, he blasted the Justice Department and pledged that a DeSantis administration would "bring accountability to the DOJ, excise political bias, and end weaponization once and for all".
Special counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with 37 counts of retaining classified information and obstruction of justice in keeping at least 31 classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence and attempting to hide them from federal law enforcement. The indictment includes damning evidence, including the transcript of what appears to be a confession from Trump that he took war plans he could've declassified as president but didn't.
That hasn't stopped Trump's allies from demanding he be pardoned. On Fox News, former George W. Bush spokesman turned Trumpist Ari Fleischer pressed the talking point, arguing that "Every wise Republican should make a pledge they would pardon Donald Trump." Pro-Trump legal scholar Jonathan Turley also suggested Trump could "run on pardoning himself" and that "If any of these Republicans [running for president] were elected, they could pardon Trump."
So far, however, Trump-friendly GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has been the loudest voice in the media pressing both DeSantis and the rest of the Republican field on legal absolution for the former president. On Tuesday, the former biotech and finance executive, who Trump has privately praised and joked about hiring in a second administration, held an impromptu press conference demanding every 2024 presidential candidate commit to pardoning Trump if elected.
In an interview with Rolling Stone , Ramaswamy says he's not focused on DeSantis and has broadly "called on candidates in both parties, regardless of our political interests, to either stand against what I see as a politicized prosecution and say so and commit to a pardon or else explain why."
But he said he found DeSantis's attempts to hedge on Trump's legal fate distasteful.
"I don't think it's good when politicians try to hide, try to talk out of both sides of their mouth," Ramaswamy said. "It's possible he'll come out adopting my position later. I think that's a trend we've seen throughout this campaign. If the last six months are any indication, my prediction is he'll come around to my position."
The pardon issue also put other Republican candidates who have flirted with criticism of Trump in an awkward position as they try to navigate a middle course.
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley initially hedged on the issue of Trump's guilt. In a Fox News appearance, she said both that the Justice Department has "lost all credibility" but also that, if the event its allegations were true, Trump would have been "incredibly reckless with our national security." In the days since, Haley has shifted further, saying that she would be "inclined in favor" of a pardon.
Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence tried to walk a similarly narrow path during an appearance on the conservative Clay Travis & Buck Sexton show. Pence said Trump faces "serious charges" and that he "can't defend what's been alleged" but wouldn't allow himself to be pinned down on the subject of pardons. "I just think it's premature to have any conversations about that right now," Pence said.
But those kinds of answers aren't sitting well with Republicans, as the response from Travis to Pence's hedging showed: "If you know that these are political charges, and you do, this is not a difficult decision."
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Isn't this an admission of guilt on Trump's part?
Them’s nice kneecaps. Be a shame if something were to happen to them.
gee, that trump endorsement is only going to get more expensive the closer we get to the election...
Trump’s Lead Grows in New Hampshire
June 15, 2023 at 3:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 40 Comments
A new National Research poll in New Hampshire finds Donald Trump has increased his lead in the GOP presidential race over Gov. Ron DeSantis by five percentage points since last month, 44% to 12%, in a multi-candidate ballot.
They are followed by Tim Scott at 7%, Chris Christie at 7% and Nikki Haley at 5%.
Interesting that after all these months, and years, of pro DeSantis efforts within the conservative ranks he is only a few points ahead of Scott and Christie in New Hampshire. The DeSantis magic may not travel well.
it must be difficult to rail against the weaponized government out of one side of their mouths while supporting a governor that runs his state that way out of the other side of their mouths...
DeSantis will quietly and wisely continue to do what he has been doing, which is to ignore Trump.
It would be political suicide for DeSantis to commit to pardoning Trump.
This indictment changes Trump's incentives as he will now support the Repub that wins the primary.
If that R commits to pardoning him.
Good point ... this could dissuade a spoiler 3rd party run by Trump and clear the way for a genuine R nominee. But, again, only if Trump believes that nominee will pardon him.
I don't think there will be much support for a trump pardon by the end of summer, but it'll be fun watching the POTUS campaigns implode then by those that have expressed their recent willingness to do so.
Any Repub that angers Trump's base won't win the nomination.
Another good point. This is the problem the GOP made for itself by not distancing itself from Trump when he left office and instead (stupidly) defending and supporting him.
look at how long it took them to turn sour on bush. blind loyalty is their achilles heel as well as a psychological weakness among a very specific demographic. most decisions based upon emotion are very poor.
Does DeSantis have to kiss Trump's feet?
He might if Trump's support does not diminish. Of course if he does, he nearly guarantees a general election loss.
it's another example of trump's transactional personality by exerting his leverage over possible rivals.
It seems that DeSantis's popularity is headed in the wrong direction.
Ron DeSantis Suffers Huge Blow in His Battle With Disney
A promise of a pardon for Trump will be the nail in the coffin for DeSantis.
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Both of them need to be kept out of office.