As the indictments keep piling up on the orange stain, more opportunities continue to present themselves to Republicans to denounce Trump. Will they take those opportunities? I’m not counting on it, but we’ll see. I imagine we’re going to see some Republicans start testing the water, trying to thread the needle in such a way as to express disapproval of Trump without irking their voter base. (Good luck with that...) Democrats should be ready when they do.
Democrats should draft a bill which specifically prohibits any president from pardoning themselves for any crimes, whether committed while they were in office, before or after they were in office, or that have not yet been committed. No exceptions, ever. The bill could literally be one or two sentences long. Very simple. Then take it to the floor for a vote and see who votes against it (or filibusters it so that it cannot get a vote), and when they do, ask them — and ask the media, relentlessly — why they wouldn’t support such legislation.
If Republicans are confident that whoever their nominee is would never behave so unethically, they should have no trouble supporting this policy. If they’re confident that Trump will be aquitted of all federal crimes with which he’s charged, then they should have no trouble supporting this policy. If they’re so sure that President Biden is a criminal, they surely wouldn’t want him to be able to pardon himself for anything, nor would they want any future Democratic president to pardon themselves for crimes. If they can’t get behind this simple rule, make them say so, and make them explain why that is to the American people.