In a move that smacks of misogyny, chauvinism and general anti-woman sentiment, President Trump is set to pardon women’s rights leader Susan B. Anthony on the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage.
In a symbolic gesture commemorating the day women finally gained the right to vote in the United States, President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will officially pardon Anthony, who was arrested in 1872 for illegally voting. She was found guilty by an all-male jury, but refused to pay the fine for her crime.
“She was never pardoned. What took so long?” Trump said ahead of his pardon, which will reportedly take place later Tuesday.
"While I am president, America will always honor its heroes, and we will always celebrate the patriots who secured women' right to vote," he added.
America will always honor its heroes!
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 18, 2020
President @realDonaldTrump will sign a full and complete pardon for Susan B. Anthony, who voted in 1872 before women had the right to vote. pic.twitter.com/ZOTb6cWt27
In the years following her arrest, Anthony led a movement to secure women’s right to vote nationally, an effort that culminated in the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 18, 2020.