This week, the Washington Post reported that President Donald Trump is “obsessed” with pardons. And while the president has frequently lambasted the paper for what he deems incorrectly reporting into his insights, he appears… obsessed with pardons.
In fact, he couldn’t stop talking about them this morning, even in situations where they don’t apply.
Before leaving for the G-7 summit, Trump called pardons a very positive thing while praising two recent ones, the commutation of Alice Johnson’s sentence and his pardon of boxer Jack Johnson.
Trump suggests he will pardon Muhammad Ali, who was convicted in 1967 for his refusal to serve in the Vietnam War, which Trump avoided with five draft deferments. Then Trump says he has an "absolute right to pardon myself." pic.twitter.com/LBVTmlMsTp
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) June 8, 2018
Trump then spoke about pardoning Muhammad Ali. Amazingly, Ali, whose conviction for dodging the draft for the Vietnam War in 1967, was overturned by the Supreme Court, doesn’t need one.
JUST IN: @MuhammadAli’s attorney responds to reports of @realDonaldTrump possible pardoning consideration. @WLKY pic.twitter.com/hV4WLsLxwL
— Tre Ward ABC 7 (@TreWardTV) June 8, 2018
Trump then segued to himself, saying that he absolutely had the right to pardon himself, though he was quick to clarify he wouldn’t need it.
When pressed about whether he would pardon Paul Manafort, his former campaign manager and other associates ensnared in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, Trump didn’t rule it out but said it was “far too early to think about,” noting that he hadn’t been convicted of anything.
And all this comes on the heels of Trump saying he had a new solution to the NFL’s national anthem dilemma.
You guessed it.
So, it’s safe to say the president may be just a bit obsessed.