Pardoner-in-chief

Today, Explained

President Donald Trump has issued a flurry of pardons and commutations in his second term — but it's not entirely different from how his predecessors used that power.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Jolie Myers and Jenny Lawton, fact checked by Andrea López-Cruzado, engineered by David Tatasciore, and hosted by Noel King.

President Trump at the 2025 Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony at the White House. Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images.

Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠

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President Donald Trump has issued a flurry of pardons and commutations in his second term — but it's not entirely different from how his predecessors used that power.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Jolie Myers and Jenny Lawton, fact checked by Andrea López-Cruzado, engineered by David Tatasciore, and hosted by Noel King.

President Trump at the 2025 Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony at the White House. Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images.

Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2026-01-29 26 min

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