A prominent conservative pundit recently floated the idea of President Donald Trump granting a pardon to disgraced former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted at the state and federal levels for his role in the 2020 death of George Floyd, which sparked nationwide anti-cop protests and riots.

On Friday, a reporter asked Trump if he was considering issuing a pardon for Chauvin but the president quickly said "No" and indicated that he wasn't even aware of the talk around it, according to the Daily Mail.

Chauvin is currently serving concurrent federal and state prison sentences, and it is unclear what a prospective pardon of the inmate's federal conviction would accomplish other than to likely spark a new round of destructive and violent unrest in cities across the nation.

Shapiro wants Trump to pardon Chauvin

It was conservative author and commentator Ben Shapiro who first brought up the idea of President Trump pardoning Chauvin, and he made his case for that controversial move in a video posted on X.

He also launched a petition that included a letter to Trump that urged him to "immediately" pardon the former cop who he claimed was "unjustly convicted" in a politically motivated prosecution by the weaponized Justice Department of the prior Biden-Harris administration.

Aside from some evidence that suggests Chauvin, who was caught on video pressing his knee to the back of the neck of a handcuffed and prostrate Floyd for nearly 10 minutes until he died, was not solely responsible for the death, Shapiro asserted that the biggest reason for a pardon was the "massive overt pressure on the jury to return a guilty verdict" by Democratic politicians and their media allies.

"Under these circumstances, there was no opportunity for blind justice to work, and a man is now rotting in prison because of it," the letter added. "Make no mistake -- the Derek Chauvin conviction represents the defining achievement of the Woke movement in American politics. The country cannot turn the page on that dark, divisive, and racist era without righting this terrible wrong."

Trump says "No" to pardoning Chauvin

The "Pardon Derek" effort launched by Shapiro this week sparked plenty of controversy and media attention, which led a reporter to ask President Trump about it during an impromptu press conference in the Oval Office on Friday.

"No, I haven't even heard about it," Trump replied when asked if he was considering such a pardon, and quickly reiterated before moving on, "I haven’t heard that."

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that Trump's swift dismissal of the idea of pardoning Chauvin seemed to match with his initial comments on the matter nearly five years ago when, like the vast majority of other Americans, he acknowledged the obvious wrongfulness of the ex-cop's actions against Floyd and signaled his support for him being held criminally liable for what he'd done.

That stance was maintained even as he grew exceedingly critical of the months-long destructive and deadly protests and riots around the country that erupted in response to Floyd's death under Chauvin's knee.

A pointless and unnecessary move

The Star Tribune noted that Chauvin was convicted of charges including murder at the state level as well as for violating Floyd's civil rights at the federal level, and was ordered to concurrently serve his 22.5-year state sentence and 21-year federal sentence in a federal prison, for which is not scheduled to be released until the end of 2035.

Even if Trump were to pardon Chauvin, it would only apply to the federal conviction since presidential clemency doesn't reach down to the state level, and aside from the debatable symbolism of such a move, the only real effect would be for Chauvin to be transferred from federal prison to a state facility in Minnesota to continue serving out his sentence.

In truth, the entire idea is absurd and would do little more than spark renewed controversy and outrage, and undoubtedly sabotage and reverse any gains the president has made in terms of support for him and his policy agenda from the black community.