“I will tell you, I will look very, very favorably about full pardons. If I decide to run and if I win, I will be looking very, very strongly about pardons. Full pardons,” Trump said on Wendy Bell Radio Thursday, adding: “We’ll be looking very, very seriously at full pardons because we can’t let that happen. … And I mean full pardons with an apology to many.”
Still, the former President’s comments come amid intense speculation about a potential reelection bid, and Trump’s continued invocation of the Capitol attack could preview a central part of his future political messaging.
Asked Thursday if he was going to run again, Trump responded, “Well the time is coming closer and I think you’re going to be really happy,” adding, “You know you have the campaign finance laws and it doesn’t allow you, it’s crazy, it’s not smart.”
“I will be doing something and I think you’re going to be happy,” he added.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Trump for comment.
While his timeline could shift again between now and November, the onslaught of political and legal concerns has the former President feeling nervous about prematurely diving into the 2024 primary, according to nine former and current Trump aides and allies who requested anonymity to discuss internal matters.
The former President went on to claim Thursday that he’s “financially supporting” some Capitol rioters who he referred to as “incredible.”
“They were in my office actually two days ago. It’s very much on my mind. It’s a disgrace what they’ve done to them, what they’ve done to these people,” Trump continued, not naming who he met with specifically.
Though pardons could only apply to criminal defendants, and nearly all defendants who are charged at this time were at the US Capitol on January 6, critics of Trump have previously raised the possibility he could be trying to buy the silence of close advisers who didn’t participate directly in the insurrection.
