President Donald Trump just made an astonishing "confession" about pardons, an analyst flagged Monday.
In his Substack essay, Democratic strategist Mike Nellis, founder and chief strategy officer of Authentic, called out why Trump's response in a "60 Minutes" interview with journalist Norah O'Donnell was troubling and "the biggest story in the country."
Trump returned to CBS for the first time after suing and settling with the company. He claimed to "know nothing" about Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, despite the president having pardoned him after his company boosted the Trump family's crypto business.
"Let’s be clear: this wasn’t a Freudian slip. It wasn’t a mistake. It was a confession. Trump freed a crypto kingpin who pled guilty to fraud — just like he pardoned cop-beaters from January 6th, just like he pardoned drug dealers, sex offenders, and white-collar crooks — because he’s likely getting paid, one way or another, in this massive corruption scheme," Nellis writes.
Nellis points out how Republicans might have reacted if former President Joe Biden made a similar move.
"Can you imagine the reaction if Joe Biden said he pardoned someone because Hunter told him to? If Biden blindly freed a scammer based solely on his son’s recommendation — no due diligence, no second thought — conservative media would be frothing at the mouth. Republicans would launch twenty investigations before lunch. But with Trump? Shrugs. Silence from the MAGA influencers," Nellis writes.
Americans are fed up, the writer adds. And that is something Trump can't escape, especially ahead of election day.
"Trump’s a skilled liar, but he can’t gaslight people about the cost of living. This is daily reality for millions. And Democrats learned that the hard way last cycle. Now it’s Trump’s turn — tomorrow, in New Jersey, Virginia, and beyond. And again in two years, when voters boot the GOP from power," Nellis writes.