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Do you think that Trump would still be likely to win after being convicted, jailed and released after being pardoned? It seems to me that if played right, such a move would be immensely emasculating - "you're only standing here because they took pity on you" - while also taking selectively taking some amount of wind out of the persecution narrative (which motivates the hardcore pro-Trump base) but not weakening the "he's a felon" narrative (which probably pushes at least some nose-holding establishment Republicans over the edge).
This would be the best possible outcome in my opinion. It disclaims the lawfare and de-escalates a potentially dangerous situation without rewarding Trump for being the human personification of "too big to fail." I don't love that I think it's also the best bet for Biden politically, but I can accept that as the price of walking us back from the cliff.
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National Review is pretty much the mouthpiece of the Republican establishment. They are pretty against this prosecution even if they aren’t big fans of Trump.
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