'Sheer insanity': Morning Joe torches Republicans floating pardons for MAGA rioters

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough called out the depravity of the two leading Republican presidential contenders for signaling they would pardon rioters who were convicted of crimes for their roles in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis have each said they would at least consider pardons for many of the insurrectionists, some of whom were sentenced to years in prison Thursday for taking part in a seditious conspiracy, and the "Morning Joe" host was appalled.

"How can you do that when one of the most grievous crimes committed in the United States this century, other than Sept. 11, happened, and you've got the two top Republican candidates saying, yeah, you know what we're going to do -- let the rioters go," Scarborough said. "By the way, the question asked of Trump was not, what are you going to do for those people who were just touring the grounds on Jan. 6? The specific question was, are you going to pardon the rioters? The rioters -- Donald Trump said yes. Then DeSantis follows behind, trying to play catch-up with Donald Trump instead of providing this contrast that Americans desperately want."

Scarborough said he couldn't really imagine a GOP contender agreeing the rioters should be prosecuted, despite their claims to the principals of law and order.

READ MORE: 'Trump understands he's in serious trouble here' after new Mar-a-Lago bombshell: Morning Joe

"They bitch and whine, saying, 'Oh, there weren't enough prosecutions of the rioters during the [Black Lives Matter], so the answer is not to prosecute people who tried to take down the United States government?" he said. "It's sheer insanity. If you think that maybe the Justice Department could have done a better job in 2020, the answer is not to do a lousy job in 2023. It's to actually do better."

Watch the video below or at this link.

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