Podcaster Brett Cooper expresses “complete and utter frustration” with Trump’s pardon “hypocrisy”

Cooper: "Here Trump is, pardoning awful people”

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From the April 1, 2026, edition of The Brett Cooper Show, uploaded to YouTube

BRETT COOPER (HOST): You defrauded the government. Elderly people died because of maggots and gangrene, but at least you got to go to the Hanukkah party. I like — I have no words. And the best part is, while he was at the Hanukkah party, he made sure to go thank his friend Laura Loomer, who had advocated for him with the president. 

So, at this point in the episode, I'm hoping that you guys are probably feeling the same way that I felt this morning as I was reading this story, which is just complete and utter frustration. I mean, there are so many different examples of hypocrisy that I could point to, but the first one that comes to mind is the fact that Trump has this, you know, hysterical troll row of presidential portraits outside the White House. He literally has the auto pen for Biden as a nod to the insane pardons that he issued his last day in office. And then here Trump is, pardoning awful people. 

And you're like, ‘Oh Brett, well Brett, it's just one guy. Were they friends?’ It's not the first time, because in addition to Joseph Schwartz, Trump pardoned another nursing home mogul who defrauded the government of $1.3 billion. That makes Joseph Schwartz look like cheap pennies. Nothing. Then there was another one who had a $200 million scheme, also pardoned, and then even nominated a man to be ambassador to Hungary after he had his own $31 million Medicaid scheme. 

All of that has happened, and yet we're still supposed to sit here and believe all of the fun little press announcement about how he's going to crack down on the Somali Medicaid fraud in Minnesota. Got it. Okay, cool. But do you see why so many voters feel bamboozled? They thought that we had turned a new leaf. You know, focus was on America first and the American people, justice for the American people after decades of tyranny and having, you know, the rug pulled over our eyes. Focus on transparency and cleaning up corruption. And yet people are sitting here going, ‘Has anything really changed? Is this any different than, you know, the Republicans of yesteryear or the Democrats of yesteryear? Is it really all just the same?’ 

Now, in the most perfect, ironic, depressing turn of events, literally as this story and that article were picking up steam yesterday, the Trump administration launched their task force to eliminate fraud. Like the jokes literally write themselves. 

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Is Trump committed? Are you actually committed? I'm not seeing anything really happen. Like, cool hype video. Love that you did a press release, and you had the fact sheet about everything you're going to be going after. But I understand why the American people are going, ‘Okay, like I'll see it when I believe it. Cool video.’ But we're all reading this article about how Trump pardoned a guy who defrauded the elderly and American taxpayers of $36 million — $35 million, whatever it is. And every single comment under that video was pointing to this story and the other 88 white-collar fraudsters who have gotten pardons from Trump, starting in his first administration.