Incredibly, Washington Post columnist Jason Willick seems to think that if Biden pardons Trump, "it could put the weary president back in the center of the political universe." Also, a pardon would "make his former rival — if he accepts the humbling offer — appear small and weak."
Willick is borrowing a Trump trick by calling Biden a "weary president." It's not much different than Trump's schoolyard bully trick of giving people insulting nicknames, like "Sleepy Joe."
If Biden were to make the mistake of pardoning the deeply corrupt Trump, the majority of Americans who are not in the MAGA Qnut cult would be sick to their stomachs. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them stopped voting altogether, because the message of a Trump pardon would be that the rich and powerful can break any law with impunity.
And if Biden pardoned Trump, the orange menace would not "appear small and weak." He would simply spin the story that the pardon was proof that he'd been railroaded by an unfair system, and he'd attack Biden with renewed vigor. His cult members would shower him with donations and it would cement his reputation among them as a man who always comes out on top.
Yes, Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon, but Nixon had agreed to drop out of politics. Trump will use a pardon as a weapon against the man to gave it to him.