3 ms·

i don’t understand why trump didn’t pardon Assange and Snowden before the election. would have been a classic Trump move. it would shock people, generate free m

• toyg 6y ago
  It would have lost significant amounts of law&order and military-friendly votes. He’s clearly not on good terms with military and intelligence hierarchies, but the wider constituencies still largely vote for him; a move like that would have jeopardized that grassroot vote without really firing up any other base (let’s be honest - dems would not have voted for more years under him, once the pardoning happened... they would have clapped and said “finally something decent” and still voted to change). Now though, it would be a big fuck-you to the establishment figures who fought him internally from day 1, which would suit his image. It could also go some way towards improving his figure in the history books, something most presidents tend to care about once they stop being concerned with everyday political streetfights. It has to be seen if he’s really at that stage though - were he younger, I wouldn’t put past him to challenge again in 4 years.