ELKADER, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis offered the clearest indication yet that he would pardon former President Donald Trump if he were to be convicted on the multiple criminal charges he faces, clarifying previously murky answers on how the Republican governor would use his pardon powers if elected president.
In an exchange with reporters after a campaign event in Iowa on Friday, DeSantis said when asked about a pardon for Trump that he had “already said that long ago.”
“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,” he said.
Pressed again on whether he would specifically pardon Trump, DeSantis reiterated, “Yeah, I said that months ago.” Asked by NBC News to confirm the governor meant that he would indeed pardon a convicted Trump if elected, DeSantis’ campaign spokesperson said, “Correct,” in a response on Saturday.
Since launching his campaign in May, DeSantis has seemed to tiptoe around the question of pardoning Trump if he were to win the White House. In an interview with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly in late July, DeSantis seemed to acknowledge that he thought granting clemency was in the best interest of the country.
“Well, what I’ve said is very simple. I’m going to do what’s right for the country,” DeSantis said. “I don’t think it would be good for the country to have an almost 80-year-old former president go to prison.”
DeSantis has faced the hypothetical question at other points on the campaign trail. During his first campaign stop Friday at a veterans outreach center in Iowa, a voter asked DeSantis outright if he would pardon the former president. The Florida governor swiftly pivoted to another subject, saying, “I’ve addressed that, but that’s a different thing.”
The previous lack of clarity from DeSantis on the question of a pardon for Trump reflects the difficulty he and other GOP candidates face in trying to siphon support from…
Read the full article here
