If Biden is serious about healing America’s divides the path forward is clear. Staggeringly controversial, but clear.
With former president Donald Trump having been charged over his role in the efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election the odds of a quiet, run-of-the-mill election in 2024 are slimmer than ever. America has been deeply divided for a long time but few, if any, issues are more divisive than the former president himself. Lionised by republicans and demonised by democrats, he is the most controversial president since Nixon and probably most well-known president since the second world war. How should a democracy handle a person like Trump? A politician as loved and hated, and as unscrupulous as Trump is a challenge for any country and America could tear itself asunder over Trump. As with the man himself, the best course of action will be immensely controversial. That being: to pardon Trump.
America prides itself on the rule of law; the idea that the law should apply equally to everyone, and that the land should be governed by laws rather than presidential dictat. In this spirit many would want to see Trump charged and convicted for his crimes. After all, everyone should be equal before the law. But when legions of Trump supporters find the law to be wielded like a blunt instrument targeted at Trump and other opponents of president Biden the processes mean to be fair aren’t seen that way. It’s important to note that judicial independence is intimately tied to perceived judicial independence. It doesn’t matter if the trial is fair if a lot of people don’t believe it is fair — and there are a lot of people who don’t think the trial against Trump will be fair.
The last time an American president was in trouble with the law in a major way was president Nixon during the Watergate scandal. But Nixon was pardoned. The reason Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon was to heal the country, and to avoid the embarrassment of having a president be a convicted criminal. The same principles apply in Trump’s case. Trump has been saying for the past eight years that the “Establishment” is out to get him, and that any legal action is a pretense. It is unlikely that Trump voters would see a legal proceeding involving their champion and accept its conclusion at face value. Forcing a head-on conflict between the judicial system and the sizable Trump voting block will break either the country’s legal system or its politics beyond repair.
Therefore, the best option left to president Biden would be to pardon Trump. Biden said when assuming office that he aimed to be a president who heals the country’s divisions and while it will be controversial in the short term, no other act has the potential to do as much good for America as pardoning Trump. Biden would likely be unable to run for president in 2024 if he did, as his party may never forgive him (at least in his lifetime). Still, a fresh democratic candidate versus a pardoned Trump in 2024 would resemble a normal election rather than another “battle for America’s soul” as some described the 2020 race. A democracy can’t handle constant battles for its soul, and if Biden was able to lower the temperature in politics it would be a strong signal that the country made the right choice back in 2020.
Finally, I think Biden should pardon Trump simply to show that Biden is the bigger person. A cowardly bully like Trump would not know how to deal with a situation where his mortal enemy, Sleepy Joe himself, helped him out of his huge legal problems. America needs to forgive the Trump supporters, to show that they hear the Trumpists’ rage while also moving forward. In a society divided in two what better symbol of hope for the future than a better relationship between these two men.
Red and blue, elephant and donkey, Trump and Biden, the divisions are largely trivial or solvable. But if the legal system gets tangled up in party politics there’s no telling how bad the fallout will be. Making true changes means making truly big sacrifices, and signature policies now considered brilliant and the obvious course of action were acts of faith and inspiration when conceived. If Biden wants to heal the country and have a legacy which will go down in history he will need to make a historic decision.
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I've always been interested in politics, economics, and the interplay between. The blog is a place for me to explore different ideas and concepts relating to economics or politics, be that national or international. The goal for the blog is to make you think; to provide new perspectives.
Written by Karl Johansson
Cover photo by Carlos Herrero from Pexels, edited by Karl Johansson
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