US President Donald Trump has revealed that he may pardon boxing legend Muhammad Ali for a draft-dodging conviction, even though his conviction was already quashed.
Mr Trump told reporters before he left the White House for the G7 summit that he was “thinking about Muhammad Ali” and some others “very seriously”. Ali was convicted in 1967 after refusing to fight in the Vietnam War, but this was overturned in 1971.
Analysts say such a move would be a purely symbolic gesture. “I’m thinking about Muhammad Ali. I’m thinking about that very seriously and some others,” the president reportedly said. Ali is also covered by the blanket amnesty granted to draft dodgers by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Mr Trump’s comments follow decision to grant clemency to Alice Johnson after lobbying by Kim Kardashian West.
Ali famously declared he “ain’t got nothing against no Viet Cong” after he was reclassified as eligible for service. After refusing to serve, he was stripped of his boxing titles and did not fight for three years while he appealed, until his conviction was quashed by the US Supreme Court.
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