WASHINGTON D.C., DC — "Tiger King" Joe Exotic's name has made it all the way to the White House.
The much-talked-about Netflix series follows the life of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic -- the former Oklahoma zookeeper, singer and gubernatorial candidate currently in prison after being convicted of a murder-for-hire plot against Tampa's Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin.
The former zookeeper, who attempted to run for president in 2016 -- the same election cycle when President Donald Trump was elected -- is reported to be asking for a presidential pardon related to the 22-year sentence he is serving in an Oklahoma prison.
During Wednesday's White House coronavirus news conference, the questions portion took a turn when a reporter asked Trump his thoughts on the topic.
So, could there be a pardon on the horizon for Exotic?
When asked, Trump said he was unfamiliar with both Exotic and the show.
“I know nothing about it. He has 22 years for what? What did he do?” Trump said before asking other reporters in attendance their thoughts.
Most in the room were not too keen to speak on the topic as Trump joked with them. It was not long before the questions got back on track about the coronavirus pandemic.
But, Trump did leave one parting comment: "I'll take a look."
While the comment appeared to be more in good humor, it does not clear the option completely off the table.
The discussion stems from earlier this week when Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr. joked he would lobby for a pardon for Joe Exotic on SiriusXM’s “Jim Norton and Sam Roberts" radio show.
Trump Jr. who called the show "pretty amazing" said he watched it in two sittings.
When asked by Norton and Roberts if he would ask his father for a pardon for Joe Exotic, Trump Jr. joked with the hosts saying: "Maybe not right now, but I could be generally for this just for the memes and just for frankly watching the media reaction to this."
He also referenced not knowing if Exotic has truly asked for the pardon.
Trump Jr. also called Exotic's sentence "aggressive."
"It doesn't seem like he was totally innocent of anything, but like when they're saying, we're putting this guy away for 30 years, I'm saying that seems sort of aggressive," Trump Jr. said to the hosts before briefly returning to the topic of coronavirus.
Trump Jr. was also asked about Carole Baskin and if he believed she killed her husband. His summed up thoughts: "her response seems odd."
A change.org petition was launched since the docuseries aired to get President Donald Trump to pardon Joe Exotic. It currently has 42,025 signatures.
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