The Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Trump has promised mass pardons for his top officials, but admits he may be joking, at least for now. They claim some of his jokes in the past have turned into serious action by him.
Here’s what they write:
President Trump has repeatedly promised his top administration officials pardons before he leaves office, according to people who have heard his comments.
“I’ll pardon everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval,” Trump said in a recent meeting to laughs, according to people with knowledge of the comments. That radius appears to be expanding as the president repeats the line. Another person who met with Trump earlier this year said the president quipped about pardoning anyone who had come within 10 feet.
In one conversation with advisers in the dining room next to the Oval Office last year, Trump said he would host a news conference and announce mass pardons before he left office, some of the people said. The people said they weren’t aware of specific pardons being offered to specific people for specific acts.
The president has repeatedly raised the specter of pardons with White House aides and other administration officials, particularly when staff have suggested they could face prosecution or congressional investigations over decisions, people familiar with the comments said. Trump is known to joke about matters that he later seriously pursues, and the frequent references have led some aides to believe he is serious about the pardons, too.
Exclusive: President Trump has repeatedly promised his top administration officials pardons before he leaves office, according to people who have heard his comments. https://t.co/VBXZxVZO1t
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 10, 2026
If the courts are going to let Biden get away with this, then why not Trump? I’ll tell you what would happen if Trump does it. Democrats would fiercly challenge them and the courts will then overturn these proactive pardons as unconstitutional. I guarantee it.
But, I don’t know that Trump is actually serious about doing this. It’s probably a running joke based on what Biden did for his officials.