President Trump unloaded on Truth Social Sunday, furious over what he sees as a stunning betrayal by Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX). After granting Cuellar and his wife a full pardon — wiping away a raft of corruption charges that could have destroyed their lives — Trump watched Cuellar turn around and announce he’s running right back to the Democratic Party that cast him aside.
Trump accused Cuellar of an astonishing “lack of loyalty” and warned that there will be “no more Mr. Nice Guy” when it comes to issuing pardons for people who show zero appreciation for an act of political and personal mercy.
Cuellar, after all, has always been a loyal Democrat. His only break with the party was over Biden’s border chaos — and Trump argued that Biden’s DOJ targeted Cuellar precisely because he had the audacity to criticize open-border policies. That’s why Trump intervened.
The charges were no small matter: bribery, conspiracy, money laundering, honest-services wire fraud, and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Prosecutors alleged Cuellar and his wife pocketed nearly $600,000 from an Azerbaijani energy company and a Mexican bank in exchange for political favors.
Yet just hours after receiving a pardon that wiped all of that away, Cuellar marched down to file for reelection — thanking Trump politely, but insisting that “nothing has changed.”
To Trump, something should have changed. He believed he rescued Cuellar from a life-altering political and legal catastrophe engineered by Biden’s DOJ. Instead, Cuellar is sprinting straight back into the arms of the same party that left him twisting in the wind:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 7, 2025
“Can you imagine?” Trump wondered aloud on Truth Social media. “The Democrats, under the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, who always use extreme force and jail-time to destroy their political opponent, wanted to put Congressman Henry Cuellar, and his wife, Imelda, in PRISON, for 15 years, which I predicted these Radical Left Lunatics would do.”
“And they never stopped wanting to fulfill this evil quest!” he continued. “The Dems mercilessly went after Henry with everything they had! They were looking to destroy him, his lovely wife, his two young daughters, and anyone close to them.”
The President noted that Cuellar’s daughters had sent him letters, urgently requesting measures to rescue their parents, which he stated evoked his compassion. However, it was all in vain.
“I signed the papers, and said to people in the Oval Office that I just did a very good, perhaps life-saving, thing,” Trump said. “God was very happy with me that day!” Cuellar, on the other hand, didn’t seem to share the same enthusiasm when he declared his campaign as a Democrat.
“Congressman Henry Cuellar announced that he will be ‘running’ for Congress again … as a Democrat, continuing to work with the same Radical Left Scum that just weeks before wanted him and his wife to spend the rest of their lives in prison,” Trump fumed. “Oh, well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!”
I want to thank President Trump for his tremendous leadership and for taking the time to look at the facts. I thank God for standing with my family and I during this difficult time. This decision clears the air and lets us move forward for South Texas.
This pardon gives us a… pic.twitter.com/ajNvHq6rG0
— Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) December 3, 2025
