How does the number of pardons by Trump compare to other recent presidents?
Executive summary
Donald Trump’s use of the pardon power in his two presidencies is unusually large and politicized: he issued roughly 237 clemency grants in his first term (2017–2021) and has issued roughly 142–144 additional pardons in his second term as of November 2025, with dozens more commutations and at least one mass pardon affecting January 6 participants [1] [2] [3] [4]. Government tracking and news outlets note that Trump’s grants have often bypassed the Office of the Pardon Attorney and favored allies, donors and political supporters, differentiating his record from recent presidents [1] [5] [6].
1. How many pardons and commutations are we talking about — the basic tally
Counting clemency is messy, but multiple trackers and reporting converge on the scale: Trump issued about 237 clemency actions in his first presidency, many observers say, and in his second term he had issued roughly 142–144 pardons by mid–November 2025 plus dozens of commutations and mass actions [1] [2] [3] [4]. Ballotpedia put the second‑term pardon total at 142 and noted 28 commutations as of Nov. 9, 2025 [2]. Independent outlets and congressional findings reported 144 individual second‑term pardons by Nov. 18, 2025 and flagged a combined $1.3 billion in cancelled restitution tied to some grants [3].
2. How that compares with recent presidents in raw numbers
Raw comparisons show variation by president and by how counts are done. Forbes observed that Trump’s 238 clemency actions in his first term “rank lower compared to other recent presidents, particularly Barack Obama,” indicating presidents differ widely in raw clemency totals [6]. Ballotpedia and the Justice Department maintain longitudinal data, but direct apples‑to‑apples comparisons are complicated by mass proclamations, commutations versus pardons, and whether one counts individual names or blanket proclamations [7] [2].
3. The procedural contrast: bypassing the pardon office
A key distinction in Trump’s record is process. Reporting and post‑term analyses say a large share of his first‑term clemency grants did not go through the Office of the Pardon Attorney — only about 25 of 237 grants followed that formal channel — a departure from modern norms and a reason watchdogs flagged favoritism and ad‑hoc decisionmaking [1]. The Office of the Pardon Attorney itself cautions how clemency statistics are compiled and the role of petitions processed through its office, underscoring why process matters for comparison [7].
4. The political pattern: allies, donors and ideological loyalty
Multiple outlets document a pattern in recipients. Investigations show many pardon recipients were political allies, former staffers, or donors; some pardons canceled large restitution obligations and were concentrated among white‑collar figures and political operatives [5] [3]. Commentators and reporting argue Trump has wielded clemency as a tool of personal or ideological loyalty — for example, pardons tied to those involved in efforts around the 2020 election and to figures connected to his political circle [8] [9].
5. Mass and sweeping pardons that complicate counting and legal effects
Trump issued mass or sweeping pardons that blur individual counts and have legal ripple effects. His November 7, 2025 pardon language covering “any slate or proposed slate of Presidential electors” in connection with 2020 has been read by legal scholars as potentially broad, prompting litigation and claims it may apply beyond named beneficiaries [9]. He also issued a sweeping January 2025 set of pardons/commutations for January 6 defendants that included more than a thousand actions, which both increased raw numbers and introduced novel legal questions [4] [10].
6. Journalistic and institutional disputes — what sources disagree about
Sources agree on scale and political tilt but disagree on interpretation. Forbes and Axios note Trump’s clemency activity is high and politically driven [6] [8]. Some outlets emphasize raw totals versus historical norms; others focus on process lapses, restitution impacts, or political patronage. The Office of the Pardon Attorney’s data caveats mean historic averages can be misleading unless methodology is aligned [7] [6].
7. Limits of available reporting and what we still don’t know
Available sources do not provide a definitive, methodologically uniform ranking of Trump versus every “recent” president across identical categories [7]. Comprehensive, directly comparable datasets that reconcile mass proclamations, commutations, and individual pardons across administrations are not published in these materials; readers should treat numerical comparisons as dependent on counting rules and on whether the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s formal pipeline is used [7] [1].
Bottom line: Trump’s clemency activity is large, highly visible and markedly political in pattern; it differs from many recent presidents in process and recipient profile even where raw totals sometimes overlap with past high‑use presidents depending on counting rules [1] [6] [5].