Donald Trump told 37 people on death row, whose sentences were commuted by Joe Biden, to “go to hell” in a tearful social media post on Christmas Day.
The president-elect — a long-time staunch advocate of the death penalty — criticize Following Biden’s decision on his “Social Truth” platform, after he wished a Merry Christmas to political opponents whom he described as “radical left-wing lunatics.”
He then turned to those to whom Biden showed clemency in a resolution announced Monday: “…to 37 of our most violent criminals, who killed, raped, and plundered like almost no one before them, but who have just received, incredibly, a pardon from… “Sleepy”. Joe Biden. I refuse to wish those lucky “souls” a Merry Christmas, but instead, I will say: Go to hell!
Biden’s move reduced the death sentences of 37 out of 40 inmates on federal death row to life imprisonment without parole, and came in the wake of pressure from activists who warned of the possibility of their execution when Trump returns to the White House.
Exceptions apply to three men convicted of crimes considered terrorism or hate crimes, including Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted of carrying out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
“Guided by my conscience… I am more convinced than ever that we must end the use of the death penalty at the federal level,” Biden – who has been a supporter of the death penalty – said in a statement. “I cannot stand back and allow a new administration to resume the executions I suspended.”
During his first presidency, Trump resumed federal executions after a 17-year break, eventually presiding over more than the previous 10 presidents combined.
Biden’s commutation order was praised by activists, including Martin Luther King III, the son of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
The majority of those whose sentences were commuted are people of color, and 38% of them are Black, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
One of Trump’s first forays into the political arena was a full-page ad calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty after the rape of a jogger in New York City’s Central Park in 1989 and the subsequent arrests of five black and Latino teenagers, who were ultimately charged and convicted of the crime. All five, who denied involvement, were eventually acquitted and released from prison after another man late made a confession that was confirmed by DNA evidence.
The men, now in their 50s, sued Trump for defamation after he falsely said during a presidential debate with Kamala Harris in Philadelphia in September that they had pleaded guilty and that the victim had been murdered.
And in another part of his article on the occasion of ChristmasTrump sarcastically offered his regards to Chinese troops working the Panama Canal, which he had publicly considered returning to the United States, and to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he taunted as “Governor” in the latest in a series of numerous encounters. insulting provocations since he won the presidential election in November.
“Merry Christmas to everyone, including the wonderful soldiers of China, who lovingly, but illegally, manage the Panama Canal (we lost 38,000 lives building it 110 years ago), and always make sure the United States invests billions of dollars in this canal.” “Dollars in repair money,” he wrote, “but there would be absolutely nothing to say about anything.”
“Also, to the Governor of Canada, Justin Trudeau, whose taxes on his citizens are very high, but if Canada became our 51st state, their taxes would be reduced by over 60%, their business would immediately double in size.” It will be militarily protected like any other country anywhere in the world.
Christmas wishes were also extended to Greenlanders, “whom the United States needs for national security purposes, who want the United States to be there, and we will.” This was a reference to his call, initially made during his first presidency, for Denmark – which has sovereignty over the territory – to sell it to the United States. Both Denmark and the autonomous administration of Greenland said it was not for sale.
In a Later an unrelated postTrump wrote that he met with retired Canadian ice hockey star Wayne Gretzky and asked him to run for the position of Prime Minister, “who will soon be known as the Governor of Canada.”
“He had no interest, but I believe the people of Canada should start the Wayne Gretzky Movement,” Trump wrote. “It will be so much fun to watch!”
