Also a non-American but, when it comes to pardon power, both Democrats and Repiblicans have pardoned close friends and family members (Clinton his brother, Biden his son, for example) and the pardon of Mark Rich by Clinton and Edwin Cox by GWB both appear to have a smell of quid-pro-quo about them. Perhaps Obama stands out in recent history as a president that, while pardoning or commuting the sentences of some controversial people, didn’t seem to stoop as low as blanket/unconditiaonl pardons for family and associates, but this is more than just a Republican or a Trump problem.