Joe Exotic aka the Tiger King is feeling betrayed.
The famous reality star and diehard MAGA fan can’t believe that President Donald Trump chose to pardon fellow reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley instead of him. And they’re far from the only bizarre individuals that Trump has taken mercy on in the last few months.
The recently married ex-zookeeper, who is five years into a 21-year sentence, ranted on X this week saying: “I guess being innocent is not enough in America. They all admitted to perjury on world television but yet I’m left to die of cancer before I can get any help.”
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Trump received backlash for pardoning the Chrisleys, known for their hit reality show Chrisley Knows Best, after they were convicted of bank fraud and tax fraud in 2022 and faced a combined 19 years behind bars.
Exotic, who is facing a similar sentence, was arrested for allegedly paying hitmen to take out his big cat rival Carole Baskin, who starred alongside him on Netflix docuseries Tiger King. Exotic has maintained his innocence and begged Trump to release him.
But he’s struggled under the reign of his once-favorite president. Exotic begged Trump to “please restore freedom for Joe Exotic so he can go back to doing good in the world,” to no avail.
His husband, Jorge Flores Maldonado, was reportedly deported by ICE to Mexico earlier this month. Flores Maldonado said he feared for his safety. “The cartels are very active here—I cannot even go out on the street. They think I have money because of my husband,” he said.
Trump granted clemency to 237 individuals during his first term, all of whom were charged or convicted of federal criminal offenses. For over a century, the Office of the Pardon Attorney acts as the key adviser to review all requests for pardons. But Trump has a long history of bypassing the OPA, and the majority of his pardons went to well-connected criminals who had not even filed petitions with the OPA. Out of all 237, only 25 came through the OPA’s process.
In the last few months alone, Trump has pardoned convicted criminals left and right. He kicked off his second term by issuing pardons for over 1,500 individuals involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection, which led to the death of a police officer. He also commuted the sentences of 14 far-right figures like former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.
Trump had only been in office for a day when he granted a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht, who founded the Silk Road dark web marketplace. The platform allowed for drug dealers to sell illegal substances and other goods with cryptocurrency. He made the move just as he called for drug dealers in the U.S. to be executed.
Trump also pardoned D.C. Metropolitan Police officers Andrew Zabavsky and Terence Sutton, who were facing jail time for their role in the death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown. The duo pursued Hylton-Brown, a young Black man, in a high-speed chase for the crime of driving a moped without a helmet and then later covered up the incident.
Trump also pardoned nearly two dozen anti-abortion activists who were convicted after blockading a clinic entrance (including one who was storing five fetuses in her home).
He pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted after trying to sell Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat. He showed mercy to former Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey, who illegally funneled money into his Congress campaign; Devon Archer, who defrauded a Native American tribe; Trevor Milton, who also committed fraud; three cryptocurrency BitMEX co-founders; and a bribed Virginia sheriff.
The president also pardoned Michele Fiore in March, who used $70,000 she had collected for a fallen police officer memorial for her own personal expenses. He also granted clemency to former nursing home executive Paul Walczak, who misappropriated $10 million for personal luxury spending and was pardoned after his mother, a significant Trump donor, upped her lobbying efforts.
During his first term, Trump also used his pardon power for several political allies and five of his former staff members and advisers: Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, and George Papadopoulos.
He was even persuaded by Kim Kardashian, who asked him to free convicted drug trafficker Alice Marie Johnson. He made the ruling after Johnson celebrated his presidency in a 2020 campaign video.
Trump also granted clemency to a number of individuals who were accused or convicted of war crimes in Iraq or Afghanistan; several convicted Republican congressmen; healthcare executives convicted in large-scale Medicare fraud schemes; and a number of other wealthy individuals who paid eye-watering amounts while lobbying for Trump to grant pardons.
No wonder the MAGA-loving Tiger King is feeling left out.
