Samantha Bee lamented Wednesday night that “along with stealing all of the copper wiring in the White House,” Donald Trump appears likely to spend the last days of his presidency “doing what he does best: Making sure no one in his life ever faces consequences.”
“While Trump is currently considering preemptive pardons for up to 20 allies,” the Full Frontal host said, “he’s been abusing his clemency power since the beginning of his term, back when he still looked hot.” And now, after pardoning his former national security advisor Michael Flynn, he is reportedly discussing preemptively pardoning his three adult children—before they’ve had the chance to be charged with any federal crimes.
Or as Bee dubbed it, “Family Pardon-Palooza.”
In response to a reporter who said it was “unclear” why Ivanka Trump would need a presidential pardon, the host joked, “Hm, didn’t she get charged with impersonating a human being?” Then, giving herself a high-five, Bee slyly referenced the biggest scandal of her own career by adding, “Cancel me, queen!”
“But even more than his kids and his sycophants, the real criminal that Trump may want to pardon may have been inside him all along,” Bee said later, delving into the unprecedented self-pardon that Trump could attempt. “Fortunately, all the self-pardoning in the world can’t totally protect the president and his circle,” she added, noting that it would not cover any potential state crimes.
While Bee admitted that Trump “wouldn’t be the first” president to misuse his pardon power, she said that “abusing” that power can and likely will have disastrous ramifications for future administrations.
“If we fail to learn from Trump’s attempts to defeat our democracy, we’ll have no one but ourselves to blame when the next Republican administration comes along to finish the job he started,” she concluded before revealing a terrifying vision: “Jeanine Pirro/Stephen Miller 2024.”
For more, listen to Samantha Bee on The Last Laugh podcast.