Trump says he would consider pardoning administration members: 'I'd do that'

Trump defended such a move, saying Biden "gave pardons to everyone."

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Looking ahead to the midterms, Trump dismisses unfavorable polls as fake and insists Republicans can prevail. “I think we’ll do OK if I campaign, and I intend to,” he says.

So far, he has done little beyond a two-day midterm convention and a few fundraisers, but top advisers say the President is preparing a campaign sprint to help Republicans stave off disaster in the midterms: visiting 32 competitive districts in the next month, with the MAGA-style rallies that powered his political rise.

Inside the White House, advisers are already contemplating what a divided Washington would mean.

“I think if the worst happens in the midterms, we’ll be forced to think more bipartisan,” one top official says. “I would hope that if we win, we can still do that, because for two years we’ve run a completely partisan play. When you’re looking back on your time, I don’t think that’s what you should be proud of, even if it was successful.”

Trump’s political operation boasts a $400 million war chest, but he has only recently begun opening his checkbook.

Aides say he has been reluctant to spend because he wants to preserve cash for future elections as a means of keeping his grip on his party.

“He wants to have as much money in his account as possible when he’s no longer able to raise the kind of money he can now,” a Trump aide told TIME this fall.

“He doesn’t seem to care that much about the midterms, thinks they’re a lost cause anyway, and wants to preserve future possibilities.”

Aides are bracing for turnover after the midterms as Trump sheds officials who have frustrated him.

🗣 A source close to the President says he has openly mused about firing the FBI Director Kash Patel and has expressed frustration with Hegseth. Trump says he intends to protect those who remain.

When TIME asks whether he plans to issue pre-emptive pardons to aides and associates before Democrats—or a future Administration—can pursue them, he suggests he will, offering a familiar justification: “Sleepy Joe gave pardons to everybody.”

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