President-elect Donald Trump is sending a clear, and dark, message to his supporters with his renewed vow to pardon the Jan. 6 rioters as soon as he takes office, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance told MSNBC's Ari Melber on Monday evening.
Specifically, she argued, he is telling his supporters that no matter how many crimes they commit, he will have their back as long as the crime was on his behalf.
Former Republican Bill Kristol opened the discussion.
"J.D. Vance ... is someone who explicitly said he would not have done what [Vice President Mike] Pence did and refuse to challenge the electors," he said. "The speaker of the House was someone, I believe, who [tried] to throw out the electors on January 6th. Kash Patel looks like he will be confirmed, more Republican senators falling in line, as FBI director. He was at the Defense Department, involved in the internal government coup plotting that sort of complemented, preceded really the assault on the Capitol."
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"It is unbelievable, from January 7th to even two years ago in a way we would have a presidency basically on the side of those who assaulted the Capitol and who tried to overturn the election four years later," he continued. "It is actually shocking."
"Joyce?" asked Melber, himself an attorney.
"You know, when you listen to these comments and watch these videos, what you are forced to consider is the message that Donald Trump is sending, because it is not just to the January 6th defendants," said Vance. "It is to the people he hopes will support him in this next term, and the message is: support me at all costs, use violence, commit crimes, I will take care of you. I find that to be deeply frightening."
Watch the video below or at the link here.