Suarez hints at willingness to consider pardoning Trump if elected president

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R), who declared his candidacy for president on Thursday, hinted that he may be willing to pardon former President Trump for the federal charges he is facing. 

Suarez said in an interview on MSNBC on Friday that one of the possible reasons for the president to use the pardon power is to “heal the country,” and he would look into using it for that aim if elected president. 

“Certainly if I became president, one thing I would look at as president is using the pardon power to heal the country,” he said. “And that by the way doesn’t go for one party, it goes for both parties.”

Suarez said he believes the country is “bewildered” by the situation with Trump, who has become the first former president to be federally indicted. Trump is facing 37 charges in connection to the classified and sensitive documents he kept at Mar-a-Lago following his presidency. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges on Tuesday and has insisted that he has not committed any wrongdoing. He has alleged that the Justice Department (DOJ) is acting on political motivation in targeting him. 

Special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the investigation, defended the DOJ and FBI against accusations of partisanship after the indictment was unsealed last week and emphasized “the scope and the gravity” of the charges against Trump. 

Reaction to the indictment among Trump’s 2024 competitors for the GOP nomination has been mixed, but some have weighed in on possibly pardoning Trump for the charges against him. 

Conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy promised to “promptly” pardon Trump if elected and called on other candidates in the race to pledge to do so as well. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has consistently placed in second to Trump in polling among Republican candidates, said last month that he would consider pardoning all defendants from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, including Trump. 

Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Tuesday she is “inclined in favor” of pardoning Trump for the country’s interest. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum dodged a question about whether he would pardon Trump on Friday, saying President Biden should be asked because he currently has the power to do so. 

Suarez said Trump is innocent until proven guilty, and the judicial process needs to happen before a discussion of a possible pardon comes.