# If convicted, should Trump be pardoned for the long term good of the country? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 26, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275 "2022-09-26T17:34:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/1 "2022-09-26T17:34:08Z")
If Trump is convicted of serious crimes, and given a long prison term, should Biden, or whoever is president, consider pardoning him to prevent civil unrest and to unify the country, or let the chips fall where they may? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/2 "2022-09-26T17:36:37Z")
Appeasing terrorists is not ‘unifying the country.’ ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/3 "2022-09-26T17:39:17Z")
Let the chips fall, the rule of law must be honored above all else. He will have been convicted by his own judges on the Supreme court when they deny his appeal so why bail him out? The fear of reprisals from his supporters is way overblown, they will take it as an opportunity to fill the power vacuum and not wasting their time staging a revolution for a lost cause. Convict him and watch the economy boom again. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/4 "2022-09-26T17:52:23Z")
Nixon’s pardon led directly to the horror show that is “Trump’s America”. Prosecute him. The law applies to everyone, and giving Trump a pardon only emboldens the next autocrat. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/5 "2022-09-26T17:55:29Z")
Absolutely not. We need to deter the next dictator wannabe. As much as I disapprove of capital punishment, I’m in favor of it for him. What he did is several orders of magnitude worse than what Nixon did. This was a deliberate act of sedition, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. Find a tree and get a rope. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/6 "2022-09-26T17:55:50Z")
Should not be pardoned. That level of fraud, corruption, and sedition really should come with consequences. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/7 "2022-09-26T18:10:50Z")
He should not be pardoned, he makes Nixon looks like a Boy Scout. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/8 "2022-09-26T18:14:36Z")
His prison term should be _commuted._ We can not _pardon_ him, as we want to make sure he never runs again for anything. Prison for a person who gets Secret Service protection? The issues there boggle the mind. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/9 "2022-09-26T18:15:51Z")
If you consider “the good of the country” to be letting a blatant seditious traitor go scot-free and to show everyone in the world that you can do the most horrific and illegal things imaginable without consequences, then yes. The sane answer is, NO. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/10 "2022-09-26T18:16:14Z")
I’m not in favor of commutation either, as I believe it isn’t better than a pardon in practical terms. I am confident we can find somewhere to imprison Trump and protect him. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/11 "2022-09-26T18:19:05Z")
You should never be pardoned until you are, at least, sorry for what you did. I wouldn’t rule out a pardon, but only if Trump were truly repentant, and I see no reason to believe he ever will be. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/12 "2022-09-26T18:24:21Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > pardoning him to prevent civil unrest and to unify the country I don’t see how a pardon of Trump would help unify the country. > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Nixon’s pardon led directly to the horror show that is “Trump’s America” “Led directly”? I don’t see it. If it was a factor, it was a relatively minor one. I don’t know whether the pardon of Nixon was the Right Thing or the Wrong Thing To Do. But if it was the Right Thing To Do, it was for reasons that don’t apply in the case of Trump. Nixon resigned from the presidency in disgrace; and afterward, he had very little in the way of power or influence or people who thought he ought to have power and influence. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/13 "2022-09-26T18:27:58Z")
The trend toward a royal “above the law” presidency needs to be cut off, dug out, and, in this instance, thrown the hell in jail — if the legal judgements warrant that punishment. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/14 "2022-09-26T18:31:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > His prison term should be _commuted._ We can not _pardon_ him, as we want to make sure he never runs again for anything. > > Prison for a person who gets Secret Service protection? The issues there boggle the mind. - Wall off a corner of the prison, build a cell/hut inside the wall. Surround with whatever it takes to keep everyone else out. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/15 "2022-09-26T18:32:18Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > As much as I disapprove of capital punishment, I’m in favor of it for him. > > This was a deliberate act of sedition, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. Find a tree and get a rope. None of which carry the death penalty. If convicted (I am cynical it will pan out before he dies of natural causes) he should be punished accordingly. As Nixon should have been. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/16 "2022-09-26T18:33:57Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > As much as I disapprove of capital punishment, I’m in favor of it for him. That would let him off too easy. I want him to sit in a cell stewing in impotent irrelevance for however long his shriveled little heart can keep pumping the hamberder grease through is veins. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/17 "2022-09-26T18:35:10Z")
Long Term Solitary is considered “cruel and unusual”. However, perhaps “house arrest” with an ankle monitor, and no internet privileges. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/18 "2022-09-26T18:37:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > However, perhaps “house arrest” with an ankle monitor, and no internet privileges. The problem with that is that keeping him under arrest but not under real security would invite “rescue” attempts from Meal Team Sixpack. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/19 "2022-09-26T18:37:05Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > None of which carry the death penalty. > > If convicted (I am cynical it will pan out before he dies of natural causes) he should be punished accordingly. As Nixon should have been. I’m sure you’re right, but he’s like an iceberg. The felonies we see are but a fraction of the felonies he committed. Perhaps there’s a capital crime or two in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275/20 "2022-09-26T18:37:17Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > If Trump is convicted of serious crimes, and given a long prison term, should Biden, or whoever is president, consider pardoning him to prevent civil unrest and to unify the country, or let the chips fall where they may? I recently started reading “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” after a recommendation from a friend, and one of the things that’s made clear very early in the book was that the slap-on-the-wrist punishment Hitler got after being convicted for the Beerhall Putsch was a major factor in emboldening further Nazi abuses of the legal and political systems. It made it clear to them that they could do anything they wanted in pursuit of power, and the consequences for failure would be minimal. So, no. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-convicted-should-trump-be-pardoned-for-the-long-term-good-of-the-country/972275.md?page=2)