Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) called on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to pardon former President Donald Trump following his guilty verdict.
Phillips has long been an opponent of Trump’s, including throwing his hat in the ring for president in the Democratic primary. The Minnesota representative ran as a challenger to incumbent President Joe Biden out of fear that he could not beat Trump. In March, Phillips ended his campaign.
“Donald Trump is a serial liar, cheater, and philanderer, a six-time declarer of corporate bankruptcy, an instigator of insurrection, and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim. @GovKathyHochul should pardon him for the good of the country,” Phillips wrote on X Saturday.
The post was met with immediate hostility online. Other users responded with over two thousand replies that largely disagreed with Phillips.
“You must be on drugs,” one user wrote.
“He’s not going make you his vp,” another wrote.
Phillips followed up his post with:
“You think pardoning is stupid? Making him a martyr over a payment to a porn star is stupid. (Election charges are entirely different,)” Phillips wrote in a post following the backlash. “It’s energizing his base, generating record sums of campaign cash, and will likely result in an electoral boost.”
Hochul has granted clemency to some 72 individuals for a variety of offenses since she took office in 2021. These have included commuting sentences and outright pardons. The governor most recently pardoned 11 people and commuted two sentences in May.
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“The clemency process requires intense deliberation and consultation with law enforcement, prosecutors, victims’ rights advocates, applicants and other stakeholders,” Hochul said in a statement at the time. “My Administration has implemented significant reforms to strengthen the clemency process and we are committed to continuing those efforts.”
The Washington Examiner contacted Hochul’s office for comment.
