DeSantis Says He'd Pardon Trump: 'Already Said That Long Ago'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is now promising that if hes elected president in 2024, hell pardon Donald Trump if the former president, who is facing 91 felony charges in four indictments, has been convicted.

The Republican presidential candidate, during a stop Friday in Iowa, declared that he already said that long ago when questioned about whether hed pardon the Republican nominations front-runner.

I think weve got to move on as a country and, you know, like Ford did to Nixon, because the divisions are not in the countrys interest, said DeSantis, adding that he said that months ago when asked about pardoning the former president.

A DeSantis campaign spokesperson responded simply Correct when asked by NBC News on Saturday to clarify if the Florida governor was committing to granting Trump a presidential pardon.

In Iowa @RonDeSantis fully committed to pardoning former President Trump if he's convicted. After I pressed DeSantis for clarity, his response was he \"said that months ago,\" but tonight was the clearest he's been yet. @NewsNation pic.twitter.com/j4JXitQgH4

Libbey Dean (@LibbeyDean_) December 30, 2023","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Libbey Dean","author_url":"https://twitter.com/LibbeyDean_","cache_age":86400,"description":"In Iowa @RonDeSantis fully committed to pardoning former President Trump if he's convicted. 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In Iowa @RonDeSantis fully committed to pardoning former President Trump if he's convicted. After I pressed DeSantis for clarity, his response was he "said that months ago," but tonight was the clearest he's been yet. @NewsNation pic.twitter.com/j4JXitQgH4
Libbey Dean (@LibbeyDean_) December 30, 2023

DeSantis recent remarks about the former president arrive months after he was asked whether hed look at potentially pardoning Trump supporters convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and Trump himself, whose charges include attempting to overturn the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents taken from the White House when he left office.

On day one, I will have folks that will get together and look at all these cases, who are people, who are victims of weaponization or political targeting, and we will be aggressive at issuing pardons, he said in May on The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, a right-wing talk radio program.

I would say any example of disfavored treatment based on politics or weaponization would be included in that review, no matter how small or how big, he said on the radio show.

In July, he said on The Megyn Kelly Show that hes going to do whats right for the country, adding that he didnt think itd be good for the country to have an almost 80-year-old former president go to prison.

It doesnt seem like it would be a good thing, he continued, citing a pardon decision he deemed a historic mistake .

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And I look at, like, you know, Ford pardoned Nixon, took some heat for it, but at the end of the day, its like, do we want to move forward as a country? Gerald Ford, who had been been Nixons vice president, pardoned him after Nixon resigned in 1974 amid the Watergate investigation, elevating Ford to the presidency.

Other 2024 Republican candidates have also weighed in on the pardon question, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who sided with doing whats in the best interest of the country, and Ohio biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who vowed he would pardon Trump as a first act as president.