Over the course of his campaign, now-President Donald Trump said he would end taxes on tips. He promised to build “freedom cities” complete with flying cars. And, in an attempt to secure the endorsement of the Libertarian Party, he promised at their convention that he would commute the life sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the infamous founder of the online drug market Silk Road. “If you vote for me, on Day One, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht,” Trump said. “We’re going to get him home.”
Today he made good on that promise, granting Ulbricht a full and unconditional pardon.
Libertarians may be celebrating, but this was a grave misstep. It undermines the law-and-order, return-to-sanity platform that brought Trump back to the White House.
The Folly of Freeing Ross Ulbricht
Libertarian Party members demand the release of Ross Ulbricht during their national convention on May 25, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Ulbricht is the founder of the darknet drug bazaar Silk Road. (Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)
Trump’s pardon of the drug kingpin repudiates everything he ran on.
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