Former President Joe Biden reportedly considered pardoning Donald Trump in 2023 after Utah Governor Spencer Cox urged him to do so, arguing it could reduce political division and retaliatory politics. Biden ultimately did not issue a pardon, and the Trump White House has portrayed the report as evidence that the previous administration knew Trump was being unfairly targeted; this is its interpretation of the account.

Cox said Biden discussed the idea with him and Jill Biden despite pressure from Democratic supporters to pursue accountability. Biden later issued pardons or pre-emptive pardons for his son Hunter Biden, Anthony Fauci, January 6 committee members and other figures before leaving office; Hunter Biden had faced tax and firearms-related federal convictions.