The Warning with Steve Schmidt Will Trump Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell or Diddy? | A Conversation with Tara Palmeri
Oct 9, 2025
The podcast dives into the controversial idea of Donald Trump potentially pardoning figures like Ghislaine Maxwell and Diddy. Tara Palmeri theorizes that these pardons could create chaos and blur moral boundaries. Steve Schmidt discusses the troubling erosion of truth and trust in institutions due to political lies. The dangers of blind partisan loyalty and the potential for ordinary people to commit atrocities are also explored, alongside a call to recognize the importance of public opinion in safeguarding democracy.
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Pardons As A Chaos Strategy
- Tara Palmeri predicts Trump may pardon multiple controversial figures the same day to blur moral lines and create chaos.
- She ties repeated mentions of Diddy to a strategy of conflating crimes to muddy public judgment.
The Avalanche Of Lies Erodes Truth
- Steve Schmidt traces a line from early Trump falsehoods to an avalanche of lies that erode shared reality.
- He warns that accumulated falsehoods prevent people from seeing plain truths about high-profile crimes and events.
Concentration Of Power And Institutional Decay
- Schmidt argues political institutions and norms are collapsing while presidential power concentrates.
- He calls this convergence dangerous for democracy and civic trust.
