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So just before getting on the plane for the G7 and Singapore summits, President Trump addressed the media and talked a lot about the pardons he has made and the 3,000 more poeple his staff is sifting through to be considered. One of the names he mentioned was Muhammad Ali as a potential pardon.

He then talked about the lady that the Karashian girl recommended to be pardoned. The media asked him about celebriites and if that is what it took to get attention and Trump pivoted to stating that he is thinking about asking the NFL players to use their celebrity status to recommend candidates that have been wronged by the justice system for pardoning or commuting of their sentences.

Not only was this a brilliant move by Trump but it puts him in a no lose situation since either the Players will get the recognition they've been protesting for or they will be exposed for their inaction and only wanting the issue. Either way, he has thrown them a bone to allow them the recognition and since addressing it takes away the reason to kneel or stay in the locker room all together. Of course the players are going to have to do the work of research and plead their case like the Kardashian did but it might be a good compromise all around.

That's my take on it, what yours?

Grandstanding.

But i do hope they take him up on it and get some honest dialog going.

c_hawkbob wrote:Grandstanding.

But i do hope they take him up on it and get some honest dialog going.

God forbid Grandstanding by any president, right?

But if it gets the dialog going, it is a great thing, grandstanding or not.

Grandstanding with a capital "G". The potential offer to pardon Ali is a joke as he had his conviction overturned by SCOUTS.

But like Cbob, if it signals a softening of his attitude, then I'm all for it. But I sure smell a fish. Trump has such an erratic, volatile personality that he could do a complete 180 the next day.

First of all, the majority of players were taking a knee to call attention to the deaths of black people in the custody of police officers.

I do not recall any players taking a knee over prison reform, but, I am not going to say there were none.

Sure, players could join in and recommend people, maybe people they grew up with and/or played with and was sent to prison over a case that if he/she had been white would have got a much less sentence if not out right probation.

If this is like when he flew that group in after that school shooting in Fla. then it won't go any where.

BUT, I FEAR the ONLY reason Trump is doing this is to endear him self to the African American community in order to "buy" their vote, the same reason he pardoned that Johnson woman, so that she could thank him. Now, there is NOTHING wrong with the woman and her family thanking the POTUS profusely because he GAVE this woman a WONDERFUL gift, the gift of FREEDOM. But, there is MOTIVE and the motive for Trump pardoning Ms. Johnson was to be PRAISED and be rewarded for that pardon, and others he has planned.

One thing I cannot get around though is that this woman was in jail a long time with an unjust sentence, she should not have had to wait for justice until a Trump. Admin.

How many presidents came and went, liberal and conservative, even a former sports caster (Reagan) why did the family of Jack Johnson not see justice until Trump came to office??

Some of the people Trump pardons may be dubious, like the Marc Rich one was for Bill Clinton, but so far even those who are not fans of Trump cannot say anything against those he has been granting pardons to.

RiverDog wrote:Grandstanding with a capital "G". The potential offer to pardon Ali is a joke as he had his conviction overturned by SCOUTS.

But like Cbob, if it signals a softening of his attitude, then I'm all for it. But I sure smell a fish. Trump has such an erratic, volatile personality that he could do a complete 180 the next day.

Tyrus (WWE wrestler and commentator) probably said it best in regards to Ali. I'm paraphrasing here but he stated that it is more symbolic than functional. Symbolic as to recognize the injustice that was committed on Ali when he protested the Vietnam war. Obviously, Ali doesn't need the pardon now to "let him out of jail" or anything... He won't rise from the grave.

Seahawks4Ever wrote:First of all, the majority of players were taking a knee to call attention to the deaths of black people in the custody of police officers.

I do not recall any players taking a knee over prison reform, but, I am not going to say there were none.

Sure, players could join in and recommend people, maybe people they grew up with and/or played with and was sent to prison over a case that if he/she had been white would have got a much less sentence if not out right probation.

If this is like when he flew that group in after that school shooting in Fla. then it won't go any where.

BUT, I FEAR the ONLY reason Trump is doing this is to endear him self to the African American community in order to "buy" their vote, the same reason he pardoned that Johnson woman, so that she could thank him. Now, there is NOTHING wrong with the woman and her family thanking the POTUS profusely because he GAVE this woman a WONDERFUL gift, the gift of FREEDOM. But, there is MOTIVE and the motive for Trump pardoning Ms. Johnson was to be PRAISED and be rewarded for that pardon, and others he has planned.

One thing I cannot get around though is that this woman was in jail a long time with an unjust sentence, she should not have had to wait for justice until a Trump. Admin.

How many presidents came and went, liberal and conservative, even a former sports caster (Reagan) why did the family of Jack Johnson not see justice until Trump came to office??

Some of the people Trump pardons may be dubious, like the Marc Rich one was for Bill Clinton, but so far even those who are not fans of Trump cannot say anything against those he has been granting pardons to.

Good post S4E. I do have a few things to point out.

Unlike the meeting at the white house after the school shooting, Trump doesn't have to wait for congress to send him a bill to pardon someone. He can do it on the argument made by the person pleading the case and weigh the pros and cons on their merits. Like you menitoned, the sentence for that lady was way over blown and one of the reasons Hillary lost some of the black vote (she was sentenced 21 years ago during Clinton's second term in office when they did the big law enforcement crackdown). A person like that would never make it to the president's desk in a normal presidency because most presidents wait for the last few days of their term to consider pardons and they Totally rely on their Justice department's recommendation. ONe of the criticisms of Trumps pardons is that he didn't consult with the DOJ on these. Additionally, without Kardashian pleading here case, she would never have been noticed. Bottom line, she got lucky but that raises the idea that there are unknown numbers of similar cases in our prison system. If you consider that, then how do you find them? Maybe ask a group that is an advocate for justice against the biases that exist to help identify those who have had unreasonable sentences.

Now you are right, there's nothing Trump can do about the folks that were shot by cops and I know he wants the cops better trained to reduce the violence against the black community but this is a start to dialogue and that might lead to further dialogue, etc, etc.