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Panicked Much? Joe Biden Rebuffs Peter Doocy When Asked About DeSantis Potentially Pardoning Trump

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  May 29, 2023 6:15 PM

President Joe Biden once again issued a reminder of what little regard he has for members of the press, as he laughed off Fox News' Peter Doocy's question with a non-answer before boarding Marine One this Memorial Day.

Doocy had asked the president if he had seen that "[Florida's Governor] Ron DeSantis said that if he became president, he would pardon Trump?" He also asked "where are you on the idea of the president pardoning Trump?" 

In response, Biden laughed and gestured before heading off. "I’ll see you guys," he offered," also adding "that’s a great question." He clearly doesn't think it's that great a question if he's not going to answer the question about two Republican candidates, with at least one of them being the likely nominee to face Biden, assuming he wins his primary.

DeSantis' comments had come on Thursday, right after he made it official that he was running for president, while he appeared on "The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show"

"Do you think the Jan. 6 defendants deserve to have their cases examined by a Republican president? And if Trump, let's say, gets charged with federal offenses and you are the president of the United States, would you look at potentially pardoning Trump himself based on the evidence that might emerge of those charges," Travis had asked. Special counsel Jack Smith has been appointed to investigate Trump. 

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While DeSantis did not get into the specifics of who he would pardon, he did not rule any out. He acknowledged that "the DOJ and FBI have been weaponized," which he pointed out is something "we see in a variety of contexts," including parents at school board meetings and "pro-life demonstrators," even while the DOJ and FBI have failed to arrest violent pro-abortion extremists. 

"So what I'm going to do is," DeSantis offered, "what I'm going to do on day one, I will have folks that will get together and look at all these cases who people are victims of weaponization and we will be aggressive." He also warned of "uneven application of justice," such as if someone involved in BLM riots was not prosecuted. 

Seeking to distinguish himself, DeSantis offered he would do this "at the front end," rather than at the end of his administration. "We're going to find examples where government's been weaponized against disfavored groups, and we will apply relief as appropriate," which he clarified will be done "on a case-by-case basis." When pressed further by Travis as to if that applied to the over-prosecution of January 6 defendants or "Trump himself," DeSantis stressed this applies to "any example of disfavored treatment based on politics or weaponization... no matter how small or how big."

Biden had enjoyed the long Memorial Day weekend on vacation, even amidst debt ceiling negotiations. He did reportedly speak with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over the phone and a deal has been reached. On Monday, the president did speak at the Arlington National Cemetery.

While Biden has had a penchant of escaping from the White House for the weekend while the country suffers from his actions, or lack thereof, he also has had a bad habit of rebuffing the press as well. Shortly before Biden made his reelection campaign official last month, even The New York Times reminded readers how inaccessible he has been.

Of course, Biden could also be scared about the prospects of facing DeSantis for the general election next year, as evidenced by his Twitter account's reactions to DeSantis officially declaring himself to be a candidate, including through a heavily criticized video. Although Biden has made it clear he welcomes the idea to face Trump again in a rematch from 2020, polling shows that both DeSantis and Trump have an edge over him in the general.