In many cases, there are very notable similarities between the president and his pardon recipients
By this point, it’s no secret that President Trump’s pardons have been significantly more self-serving than those of other presidents. While his predecessors have lodged controversial pardons — no question — Trump is simply on another level. Not only has he pardoned his allies, but he has often pardoned people who cozy up to the powerful people around him, whether via Fox News or some other method.
But there’s another key aspect of Trump’s pardons that shouldn’t get lost: In many cases, there are significant similarities between the pardon recipient and Trump — or at least Trump’s depiction of himself.
Back in August, as he was weighing the commutation of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich’s (D) sentence (which Trump granted Tuesday), Trump suggested that the phone call on which Blagojevich was caught talking about selling an appointment to the U.S. Senate wasn’t actually bad.