Although Trump's lawyers deny it, White House sources say Trump is asking about his right to pardon offenders (including his family members and himself). It's looking like Trump is starting to realize just how much trouble his administration is in, and that some of those troubles could even be criminal.
While Trump does have the right as president to pardon his aides and family members, I doubt that he could pardon himself. That doesn't even make sense. But issuing pardons wouldn't solve his problems. It would basically be an admission of guilt, and it would move Congress much closer to impeaching him and removing him from office.
That would make Mike Pence the president. Unfortunately for Pence, that's not something most Americans would like. Only 26% think Pence would be a better president than Trump (which, considering Trump's unpopularity, should be a big insult to Pence). Meanwhile 45% say Pence would not be a better president.
This chart was made from a new Rasmussen Poll -- done on July 16th and 17th of a random national sample of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3 point margin of error.
