Donald Trump is going to ‘take a look’ at pardoning Joe Exotic because there’s clearly nothing more urgent to deal with
Donald Trump and Joe Exotic. (Getty/Netflix)
Donald Trump has said he will “take a look” at pardoning Tiger King star Joe Exotic, because apparently there is nothing more urgent he should be dealing with.
Exotic has become a household name in recent weeks since Netflix unleashed its true crime documentary miniseries Tiger King, which examines his life.
The zookeeper was sentenced to 22-years in prison for allegedly trying to hire a hitman to murder Carole Baskin, the CEO of animal sanctuary Big Cat Rescue.
There are now more than 400,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States and almost 15,000 people have died, but one reporter felt that asking Trump about Joe Exotic was a vital use of limited time.
Donald Trump said he will ‘take a look’ at pardoning Joe Exotic, and 2020 couldn’t get any stranger.
At a press conference, the reporter told Donald Trump that Tiger King is “one of the biggest ratings hits of the coronavirus” and said Exotic is looking for a pardon and believes he was “unfairly convicted”.
“Your son yesterday jokingly said that he was going to advocate for it, and I was wondering if you’ve seen the show and if you have any thoughts on pardoning Joe Exotic?” the reporter asked.
“Which son? It must be Don,” Trump said, looking relieved not to be fielding questions about the ever-increasing death toll in his country.
When the reporter confirmed that Donald Trump Jr had suggested Joe Exotic be pardoned, Trump had to ask who Exotic was and what he had done, confirming that he has not watched the hit Netflix series.
“I’ll take a look,” Trump said, before moving on to the next question.
People were unsurprisingly confused as to why Trump was being asked about Joe Exotic in the midst of a deadly pandemic.
We live in the stupidest time that we could possibly live.
— Wes_Tron (@TronWes) April 9, 2020
Hardcore journalists at these rallies I see— I’m Still Benny From The Block (@twitbenn) April 9, 2020
Speaking earlier this week on SiriuxXM, Donald Trump Jr said Exotic’s 22-year sentence for trying to have a woman murdered was “aggressive”.
Tiger King star is serving a 22-year sentence for a number of offences.
“Now, I don’t even know exactly what he was charged with,” Donald Trump Jr said. “I watched the show, but it was 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.”
The ‘gun-toting gay redneck’ star of Tiger King is currently serving 22 years in prison for a litany of offences including the illegal trade of wildlife, violations of the Endangered Species Act, and a murder-for-hire plot to kill Carole Baskin.
He recently launched a sprawling $94 million lawsuit against the federal government alleging that he has been subject to civil rights violations, false arrest, false imprisonment, and selective enforcement, among many, many other things.
Joe Exotic reportedly filed a new motion earlier this week, asking judge Scott Palk to recuse himself from the lawsuit because he’s “homophobic”.
