Leila's Lines- Week 7

In What World Could Pence Pardon Trump:

It’s been weeks since the election has been called and since Biden has accepted his position as president-elect. However, Trump has yet to concede or formally recognize his defeat. As he is on his way out of office, whether he peacefully leaves or is forcefully removed from his position, it is likely that he will use his executive power to pardon several people-- specifically his own family members. He can’t, however, pardon himself, and if he tries to, the courts will overturn his motion. Here’s where things get interesting: some people have begun to speculate that Trump will actually resign from the presidency so that Pence can pardon him for his crimes. If Trump were to be pardoned, he would only be protected on a federal level, leaving the states room to convict him. It’s likely, though, that these cases, on a state level, would be lower stakes than those on a federal level.

Furthermore, there have been ideas circulating, which suggest that Trump will run again in 2024, but I find this to be highly unlikely. Trump’s businessman facade has allowed him to make an extremely recognizable brand for himself and his family. His likability has attracted to him an extremely devoted fanbase, which is likely to follow him in his future endeavors, regardless of what that means specifically. Once he’s out of office, he will have prime time on Fox or another conservative new channel. He may, potentially, create his own conservative media, but this could turn out to be too much work for him and thus Fox would suffice. While we don’t know what his actual economic state currently is, these media opportunities and direct path towards growth in his fanbase are ought to bring in immense amounts of money.

These media opportunities could be quickly demolished without a federal pardon. He could spend the next couple of years fighting federal offense cases, diminishing his image and thus chances of multi-billion-dollar media opportunities.

Who’s The Man Behind Trump:

Technically, Stephen Miller is Trump’s Senior Advisor, but he’s also the mastermind between many of Trump’s inhuman actions-- especially those regarding immigration. Trump may have been the face of the separation of migrant families at the border and the “Muslim ban,” but Stephen Miller was really the man planning these. His push against immigration likely stems from a belief that multiculturalism is a threat to civilization. Those who have known Miller from a young age attest to the fact that he has always held anti-immigration views, and it has been a life-long goal of his to actualize these beliefs, which he is beginning to do as he is allotted tangible power. Further, people close to him recall how he has always acted proactively, which he has continued to do in order to gain media attention and more political power.

When he was younger, his family lost a significant amount of money, which forced them to move from an affluent neighborhood in Santa Monica to a less affluent part. Instead of attending an almost all-white private high school, he was moved to a more diverse public school. Through this transition, he grew increasingly vocal about his resentment towards those unalike from him. While attending his public high school, he tried to encourage students to leave their trash scattered across the school. He refused to clean up after himself, and his argument was that it was the “janitors’ job.” While many people initially thought his provocative behavior was a sheer joke, they became increasingly concerned that his ideologies were completely dissimilar from theirs and that he wasn’t, in fact, joking. His stand-out ideology continued to catch people’s attention when he attended Duke for college.

While Trump has continuously fired and replaced advisors, Miller has stuck around as a fairly constant figure. This could be credited to Miller’s upbringing. His dad is often referred to as “Trump-like,” so Miller understands Trump both in his work and family lives. Furthermore, Miller has remained cautious as to not clearly over-power Trump and his desires, letting Trump seemingly (only seemingly) lead the way.

Who is Ben Shapiro?

You may have heard the catchphrase “facts don’t care about your feelings,” which Ben Shapiro made popular during the height of his controversial opinions on microaggressions on college campuses. Since then, he has continued to gain traction and has become a millennial icon for many, generally voicing conservative views that deter from the social justice left-leaning mindset. He has been known, however, to hold rather progressive opinions when it comes to same-sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana.

Shapiro grew up in LA and was raised by Republican, Jewish parents in a sea of liberals. He attended UCLA when he was 16, graduated at 20, already had two books published under his name at 21, and graduated from Havard Law School at 23. After graduating, he tried his hand at screenwriting as his parents were in the Hollywood film industry. However, no one bought into his writing, so he decided to start his own consulting company: Benjamin Shapiro Legal Consulting.

In 2015, he launched his own website called the Daily Wire with the goal of promoting conservative viewpoints through various mediums. In 2016, he left his job as Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News-- where he wrote about justifying Trayvon Martin’s death-- out of solidarity with Michelle Fields who had been sexually assaulted by Trump’s then-campaign manager.

His goal is to influence the younger voters to support the Republican Party, which he feels they have abandoned for the Democratic Party. He prides himself on his evidence-based opinions, which don’t take into account “personalities” or “politicians.”

His quick rise to fame and traction of followers makes me think: is he the future for Trump-supporters? And, if so, where is he headed during the next administration?

For a quick video that shows Shapiro's behavior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRF3r3zUGqk