I will admit that I expected Trump to pardon his cronies. Trump has shown over and over a complete disregard for the rule of law and the norms of presidential behavior.
As a teacher and counselor for more than 35 years, I have seen this kind of argument used as an excuse by adults to justify child and spouse abuse. The “power makes right” argument.
Next, the writer argues that President-elect Joe Biden will do the same thing. I often saw this kind of deflection in students who had been caught doing something wrong. They would say “what about...” and then name another student with a similar misbehavior, or potential behavior that might deflect responsibility for their own bad behavior. Bad behavior is bad behavior, whether or not others may have done it or might do it in the future.
Then the writer tries to justify several Republican senators who lied about what they would do if a Supreme Court opening came up in the last year of a presidency by saying the Democrats would have done it. No, the Democrats would not have done the same thing. This rationalized lying has been the hallmark of Trump and many of his supporters.
A world where “power makes right” and justifying lying because others have or may do in the future is not the world I want.