Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman caught some heat from Sunny Hostin for suggesting President Donald Trump‘s New York City trial was “politically motivated.”
On this morning’s episode of The View, Fetterman — a Democrat who recently met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago — clarified how he felt about former president Joe Biden pardoning his son before leaving office, as well as Trump’s blanket pardon for more than 1,500 people charged in connection to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
“I’m on record criticizing, going after Hunter Biden. And I also agree that the trial in this city, in New York, was politically motivated. That wouldn’t otherwise have been prosecuted if it was someone else,” he said, referring to the infamous hush money case that found Trump guilty on 34 counts last spring.
Fetterman said he’s “all about delivering second chances” in the form of pardons, noting that if “you are following the rules and you’ve paid your debt,” there should be a “path for redemption.”
However, he still believes pardons have become politicized.
“If you’re going to abuse the process, as somebody that’s been very committed as part of that, that’s made that part of my career, I think it’s sad because it’s been politicized,” he said. “And if anything, I think that might’ve set some things back. Because people assume now, depending on what team is in office, those are the people that get some redemption.”
Hostin, still stuck on what Fetterman said about Trump’s trial, brought out her prosecutor voice as she grilled him on his comment.
“Just for clarification: Did you mean that the 34-count case in which Donald Trump was found guilty of various financial crimes was politically motivated here in New York?” she asked.
But Fetterman only doubled down, telling the co-host that it’s “inappropriate” when the “judicial system gets weaponized” and targets “political enemies for political gain.”
“Whether that’s a Democrat going after a Republican or a Republican going after a Democrat,” he continued. “I like to think I call it strikes and balls because the judicial system has to remain impartial. That’s really the cornerstone of our society.”
Whoopi Goldberg ended the segment by cheekily adding, “Wouldn’t that be great if that’s actually the way that things worked?”
The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.