MSNBC guest claims Biden is executing stunning plot against Trump
An MSNBC analyst claimed that President Joe Biden is using his final days in the White House to do whatever he can to “mitigate the damage” of a Donald Trump presidency.
Political consultant Matthew Dowd made the comments on Thursday’s episode of MSNBC Reports after host Richard Lu asked him how he thought Biden was spending his final days as president.
“I think he’s trying to corner Donald Trump and box him in so he can do…
“I think the Biden administration and the president are trying to prevent Donald Trump from doing as much damage as possible,” Dowd responded.
‘Which he was able to do a lot after he became president. But I think Joe Biden is trying to bring him into this.”
As part of his final steps as president, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row to life sentences, just weeks before President-elect Trump, an outspoken supporter of expanding the death penalty, takes office.
He took a political jab at Trump, saying, “In good conscience, I cannot sit back and let a new administration resume the executions I stopped.”
“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, mourn the victims of their despicable actions, and mourn all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable losses,” Biden’s statement said.
Political consultant Matthew Dowd claimed that President Joe Biden is using his final days in the White House to do whatever he can to ‘mitigate the damage’ of a Donald Trump presidency
As part of his final steps as president, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row
“But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, vice president and now president, I am more convinced than ever that we must end the use of the death penalty at the federal level.”
Dowd defended Biden’s move, saying, “Donald Trump doesn’t understand the difference between a commutation and a pardon.”
Meanwhile, a Trump spokesperson called the decision “appalling.”
“These are among the worst killers in the world and this abhorrent decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families and their loved ones,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said.
“President Trump stands for the rule of law, which will return when he returns to the White House after being elected with a huge mandate from the American people.”
The Biden administration announced a moratorium on the federal death penalty in 2021 to study the protocols used, suspending executions during Biden’s term.
But Biden had even pledged in the past to pursue the issue further, pledging to end federal executions without the caveats of terrorism and hate-motivated mass killings.
The announcement on federal executions also followed the post-election pardon Biden granted his son Hunter over federal gun and tax charges after long saying he would not issue one, sparking an uproar in Washington.
A Trump spokesman called Biden’s decision on federal executions ‘abhorrent’
The announcement about federal executions also followed Biden’s post-election pardon of his son Hunter over federal gun and tax charges.
The pardon also raised questions about whether he would grant sweeping preemptive pardons to administration officials and other allies who the White House fears could be wrongfully targeted by Trump’s second administration.
During his campaign, Trump made no secret of his desire to exact revenge on those who persecuted or opposed him.
Trump has spoken of “enemies from within” and spread messages on social media calling for the capture of Biden, Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence and Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer.
He also targeted former Rep. Liz Cheney, a conservative Republican who campaigned for Harris and helped lead the Jan. 6 investigation, and promoted a social media post suggesting he wanted military tribunals over alleged treason.
Kash Patel, who Trump has announced as his nominee to become FBI director, has listed dozens of former government officials he wanted to “get after.”
Richard Painter, a Trump critic who served as the top White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said he was reluctantly in favor of Biden granting sweeping pardons to people who could be targeted by Trump’s administration Trump. He said he hoped this would “clean the slate” for the incoming president and encourage him to focus on governing, not punishing his political allies.
“It’s not an ideal situation at all,” Painter said. “There are a lot of bad options in front of us right now.”