Governor Hochul needs to put country over the demagogy of New York’s progressive Democrats.

In the aftermath of President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing on Friday, much thought was given to his potential loss of civil rights. Charlie had an excellent post on this point regarding the right to vote and to possess firearms.

I want to broaden our consideration of this topic. Beyond Trump’s personal rights, let’s think about the potential damage to the presidency. (This means I won’t dwell on my friend and Fox News colleague Trey Gowdy’s tart observation that Trump is in the position of not being lawfully permitted to possess a firearm while, by constitutional mandate, he is commander in chief of the most powerful armed force in the history of humanity.)

Many significant countries, including the world’s most significant country, the United States, do not permit the entry of noncitizens who have criminal records. As Forbes reports, the following countries, other than the U.S., bar convicted felons: India, China, Japan, Iran, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Kenya, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Cuba, Israel, New Zealand, and Macau.

Several other countries, the report adds, do not inquire into criminal records as a regular part of their admission process but will deny entry to a convicted felon, or boot the felon out of the country, if the conviction is discovered for whatever reason. These countries include Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Ethiopia, Egypt, the Philippines, Turkey, Tanzania, South Korea, Morocco, Ukraine, Malaysia, Peru, Nepal, Chile, Cambodia, Tunisia, the Dominican Republic, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Ireland.

Even countries run by leftist regimes that would otherwise love to embarrass Trump need things from the United States. Hence, the incoming administration will undoubtedly secure waivers from any countries to which President Trump will want or need to travel. Indeed, the Forbes report notes that Canada gave President George W. Bush a waiver because his then quarter-century-old misdemeanor DUI conviction (in 1976) would have been a basis to exclude him.

Nevertheless, Trump’s prosecution in Manhattan was ludicrous, patently partisan, and rife with error under the state and federal constitutions. Regardless of what Manhattan progressives may think, New Yorkers should be outraged if it brings humiliation to our country because the president needs waivers to conduct foreign relations — one of the principal functions for which we have a federal government.

Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge because any other sentence would have impeded the conduct of the president’s awesome duties to the security and prosperity of the American people. It turns out, nevertheless, that even the unconditional discharge — because its intended partisan outcome was to adjudicate Trump a convicted felon — has precisely the result of impeding the conduct of the president’s duties.

Governor Kathy Hochul, issue a pardon and expunge this ridiculous conviction. It’s your opportunity to beat the appellate courts to the punch and do a service to the country.