Fox News hosts Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld joked that prosecutors in Donald Trump’s criminal cases should get the death penalty.
With the Justice Department in talks with special counsel Jack Smith about dropping two of the federal cases he is overseeing against Trump, The Five panelists had some back-and-forth about what should happen to those who sought the president-elect behind bars.
“Dana… a lot of the people that were on this and wanted it so badly, how are they going to survive? Do you think they need therapy,” Gutfeld asked Perino on Thursday’s show.
“Yes, they definitely need therapy,” the former White House press secretary responded. “Maybe also the death penalty?”
“Yes, I think the death penalty,” Gutfeld teased in agreement.
Donald Trump made history on Wednesday morning after he was declared the first ever president-elect to be criminally convicted. He still faces a slew of criminal charges, many of which are unlikely to proceed.
Upon taking office, he will theoretically be able to pardon himself or order the dismissal of the federal charges against him, but he would not have the power to quash the state charges.
A president also does not have the power to sentence anyone to death. A jury must decide whether capital punishment is carried out.
“I keep forgetting that Donald Trump was running to stay out of prison,” co-host of The Five Jesse Watters added.
“He gambled and he won. Because it was either if he wins, he might get shot again. If he loses, he’s going to spend the rest of his life behind bars.”
Perino chimed in: “You can do a rhetorical switch when you say that, ‘In spite of all of these legal cases against him, he won. And I changed it to ‘Because of all of these legal cases.’”
“Very clever Dana,” Gutfeld added. “Somebody’s getting a cupcake.”
Smith is prosecuting Trump in two federal cases: his alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence (which was thrown out in July); and another connected to his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Before he won the 2024 presidential election, Trump said he would “fire” Smith in seconds of taking office for investigating him and ominously suggested that he should be forced to leave the country.
Trump also faces 10 felony counts in Georgia with trying to overturn his 2020 defeat in the state as part of a sprawling racketeering case led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
On May 30, Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection to a hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels in order to quash historic affair rumors just weeks out from the 2016 election.
His sentencing was due to take place on November 26, but legal experts believe it almost certainly won’t happen.
