Joe Exotic Rips Trump's Inner Circle Over 'Bad' Midterm Advice as 'Tiger King' Star Begs Prez for Freedom: 'He Should Pardon Someone Broke'
Joe Exotic is begging President Donald Trump for a pardon while ripping the advice coming from his inner circle.
Aug. 27 2026, Updated 4:20 p.m. ET
Pardon Pressure
The 'Tiger King' star has renewed his push for a presidential pardon after spending years behind bars.
Joe Exotic has ripped into President Donald Trump's inner circle over what he claims is "bad" political advice, while making another desperate plea for the commander-in-chief to set him free, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Tiger King star, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, took aim at the president's advisers, arguing that a pardon for him could help Trump politically ahead of the midterm elections.
In a statement provided to Radar, Maldonado-Passage claimed Trump's team is failing to recognize the optics surrounding his recent clemency decisions.
"The people around President Trump do not give him very good marketing advice this close to the midterms," he said.
The outspoken former zoo owner then claimed negative headlines surrounding Trump's pardons could be countered by granting clemency to someone without money or political connections – namely himself.
Maldonado-Passage said: "He should then pardon someone broke as s--- that was exploited by the system and has done 8 years in prison."
Trump's 'Bad Advice' Exposed?
The ex-reality star claimed Trump is getting 'bad' advice from those around him ahead of the midterms.
He went on to dub himself "America's COVID-19 hero," claiming he helped people get through the pandemic while much of the country was under lockdown.
Maldonado-Passage argued freeing him would "show the world" Trump's clemency decisions aren't merely about helping "close friends and politicians."
The reality TV personality has spent years campaigning for a presidential pardon and has repeatedly insisted he was wrongly convicted.
Maldonado-Passage was convicted in 2019 on federal charges stemming from a murder-for-hire plot targeting his longtime rival, animal rights activist Carole Baskin, as well as wildlife-related offenses.
Tiger King Continues to Fight
He has continued to insist he was exploited by the system and wrongly convicted.
He was originally sentenced to 22 years behind bars. After an appeals court ruled the trial court improperly calculated his advisory sentencing range, he was resentenced in 2022 to 21 years. Maldonado-Passage has continued to maintain his innocence and claim he was set up.
Material provided alongside his latest statement included what was described as "newly discovered evidence" supporting his allegations.
The document contains purported transcript excerpts attributed to Jeff Lowe and Matthew Bryant, including references to "set him up," an "overt act," and the murder-for-hire case.
The excerpts appear to form part of Maldonado-Passage's continuing effort to challenge the circumstances surrounding his prosecution, though they do not themselves establish that he was framed.
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The Netflix notable rose to fame as the eccentric zoo owner at the center of the show, 'Tiger King.'
The Netflix alum previously sought clemency from Trump during the president's first term, but he was not among those granted relief before Trump left office in January 2021.
Now, with Trump back in the White House, the Tiger King star appears determined to keep his case in the president's orbit – and is pitching his freedom as more than a personal cause.
According to Maldonado-Passage, pardoning one of America's most notorious inmates could even prove politically advantageous.
His message to Trump was clear: freeing a man who describes himself as "broke" and exploited by the justice system would, in Maldonado-Passage's view, send a very different message about who benefits from presidential clemency.
