Donald Trump Jr wants his dad to pardon Joe Exotic ‘just for the meme’. Yes, really
Donald Trump Jr, a man whose sole achievement in life is being the son of Donald Trump (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Donald Trump Jr has suggested that jailed Tiger King star Joe Exotic should receive a presidential pardon from his father.
The president’s worst child decided to take a break from his important role as an anti-transgender MAGA troll to call for the release of the tiger keeper after the success of the Netflix series.
Donald Trump Jr says Joe Exotic sentence was ‘sort of aggressive’.
Speaking on SiriusXM, Trump Jr joked of the prospect of a pardon for Joe Exotic. He said: “Maybe not right now, but I can generally be for this just for the meme. And just for frankly watching the media reaction to this thing. It would be pretty amazing to ultimately see that.”
“Now, I don’t even know exactly what he was charged with. I watched the show, but it’s like, I don’t know exactly what he was guilty of or wasn’t. It doesn’t seem like he was totally innocent of anything.
“But when they’re saying, ‘We’re putting this guy away for 30 years,’ I’m saying that seems sort of aggressive.”
Donald Trump Jr. visits SiriusXM Studios on February 13, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)
Of course, innocence or otherwise is not typically a factor being considered when president Trump hands out pardons.
Trump Jr added: “You know what the real tragedy of that show is? None of us knew that you could have had a pet tiger for like $2,000.”
Joe Exotic is currently carrying out a 22-year sentence in federal prison for attempting to hire a hit person to kill Big Cat Rescue owner Carole Baskin.
He was also charged with eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.
Tiger King star still insists he was innocent.
However, he continues to maintain his innocence – and in a mammoth lawsuit filed in federal court last month, alleges he has been subject to civil rights violations, false arrest, false imprisonment, and selective enforcement.
The US Department of Interior and US Fish and Wildlife Service are both named in the lawsuit, seeking $73,840,000 in damages for loss of personal property relating to his zoo, in addition to $15 million relating to his conviction.
The zoo keeper, real name Joseph Schreibvogel Maldonado-Passage, claims he was targeted “because [he] is an openly gay male with the largest collection of generic tigers and crossbreeds”.
