Radio personality and Outkick.com founder Clay Travis has proposed that all GOP presidential candidates say that if elected, they will pardon President Donald Trump.  Some GOP candidates like Vivek Ramaswamy signed on completely.  Some GOP candidates like Nikki Haley signed on more tepidly.  Some Republican candidates like Chris Christie have rejected the idea.  Democrat candidates like Robert Kennedy, Jr. have not been asked this question yet.  Most recently, former Trump V.P. Mike Pence went on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton radio show and obfuscated on this question.

The way the Travis-Pence scenario went down on the radio, according to the New York Post, was like this:

Clay Travis: "[W]ould you pardon him [Trump] from these charges?"

Mike Pence: "These are serious charges.  I can't defend what's been alleged, but the president does deserve to make his defense."

When Travis pressed him on the issue, citing the political nature of the charges, Pence further responded that he doesn't like to engage in hypotheticals and repeated that Trump is entitled to make his defense.  As the interviewers said post-interview, Pence should have known that this question was coming and should have been prepared for it. 

Obfuscation just won't do in such a situation.  Now that this question is getting lots of publicity, look for all sorts of candidates to get it put to them — several times, depending on their answer.

There is an easy answer for any candidate, Democrat or Republican, to give on this issue regardless of what their actual view is. 

Questioner: Candidate X, if elected, will you pardon President Trump from these political charges?

Candidate X: The X administration will focus on having a Department of Justice dedicated to justice, fairness, and equal treatment under the law for everyone.  As such, if I find that any person, President Trump or any other person, has been politically prosecuted on federal charges in this country, I will of course pardon them, regardless of political views or party, regardless of social standing, regardless of race or religion, and regardless of whether I personally like him or not.

That answer works if X is Ramaswamy or Christie or Kennedy administration.  This answer works because the vast majority of Americans want a Department of Justice that seeks justice, is fair, and does not engage in political prosecutions.  This is the type of assurance voters want from presidential candidates.  Some might want to go farther and say that at this point in time, they know that these charges are political, as they obviously are, but the answer to the first question alone is much better than what Mike Pence came up with.

Whether they go farther or not, there will be a follow-up question of whether or not the candidate sees the charges against Trump as political.  The various candidates can answer that question with varying degrees of certitude depending on their tastes.  They can say of course, as we might expect Ramaswamy to say.  They can say they are suspicious but need to look into it.  They can even say no, as Christie or any Democrat cowed by his base might.  Pence's refusal to answer this part or saying he would need to know more about the process leading to the charges would not reflect as poorly on him as his original obfuscation.

I guess perhaps this answer works less well if you are Joe Biden and X is the Biden administration.  Biden could of course pardon Trump right now, and politically, it might help him.  

Finally, that Mike Pence did not have such an answer formulated is concerning for his candidacy.  As his questioners said, he really should have been better prepared.

James L. Swofford is a professor of economics in the Department of Economics, Finance, and Real Estate at the University of South Alabama.

Image via Pickpik.