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Tiger King‘s Joe Exotic may have a new champion. During his coronavirus briefing on Wednesday night, President Trump was asked about pardoning the Tiger King star, who is currently serving a 22-year sentence for hiring a hitman to murder animal rights activist Carole Baskin. While Trump said that he doesn’t know much about Exotic’s case or the Netflix docuseries, he told reporters that he will “take a look” at a potential pardon. That’s definitely a good use of time right now, as the country battles a deadly pandemic.
Last night, a reporter shifted Trump’s attention away from the COVID-19 outbreak to ask about a far more pressing issue: Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic. “One of the biggest ratings hit of the coronavirus, aside from these briefings, has been a show on Netflix called Tiger King,” said the reporter. “The man who’s the star of this is a former zoo owner who’s serving a 22 year prison sentence. He’s asking you for a pardon, saying he was unfairly convicted. Your son yesterday jokingly said that he was going to advocate for him. I was wondering if you’ve seen the show and if you have any thoughts on pardoning Joe Exotic?”
Earlier in the week, Donald Trump Jr. told SiriusXM’s Jim Norton and Sam Roberts that Exotic’s sentence “seems sort of aggressive” given his crimes (the Oklahoma zoo owner was charged with murder-for-hire and violating the Endangered Species Act). “I watched the show but I don’t know exactly what he was guilty of or wasn’t,” said Trump Jr.
“Which son?” asked the president on Wednesday night. When he was informed that it was Trump Jr., he wasn’t surprised. “Must be Don. I had a feeling it was Don.”
“I don’t know,” Trump said of Tiger King‘s Exotic. “I know nothing about — he has 22 years for what? What did he do?”
The reporter explained that Exotic “allegedly hired someone to murder an animal rights activist” but has maintained his innocence. “Do you think he didn’t do it? Are you on his side?” asked Trump. “Are you recommending a pardon? As a reporter, you’re not allowed to do that. You’d be criticized by these [guys].”
Trump concluded that he’ll look into Exotic’s case and consider a pardon. If he does so, it will be a major win for the former big cat owner: Exotic has filed an $89 million lawsuit against the federal government for false arrest, but chances of winning are slim. According to Deadline, this week, a federal judge advocated tossing Exotic’s March 17 filing, while another rejected his attempt to force a recusal in his civil suit against the U.S. Federal Wildlife Service, the United States Department of Interior, and his ex-business partner Jeff Lowe.
Watch Trump sound off on Joe Exotic in the clip above.
