Savannah Chrisley says Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential election win was her parent’s “only way out” of prison.
The well-known reality TV family sat down for their first TV interview since their release from prison on Fox News’ My View with Lara Trump Saturday night. There, Todd, Julie, Savannah and Grayson Chrisley discussed their release from prison that was ignited by Trump’s pardon.
During their conversation, Savannah, an avid advocate for her parent’s release since they went away in 2023, said they were at an “all-time low” before they got the call that Todd and Julie were being pardoned. She recalled getting into a fight with Grayson, her younger brother whom she gained custody of when her parents went to prison, the day that they got the life-changing news.
“Just going through this together has been such a whirldwind, and the that day they got pardoned, he and I were fighting. It was the worst day ever,” she said. “I had just reached a point of, like, I’ve done everything I can do. At this point, there’s nothing more I can do. And then, I got the call from [Margo Martin].”
Savannah added that she believes Trump winning the 2024 election was Todd and Julie’s “only way out.”
“On a personal level, we watched the election together, and he got to vote in the election for the first time,” Savannah said of her brother, Grayson. “And when we were watching it and saw the president win, we both started sobbing and he just grabbed me and hugged me because we knew that was our only way out.”
“We owe thanks to God… and God touched President Trump’s heart,” Todd added. “God led the people to advocate for us. And so I’m grateful because every night I would pray that God would return me home to my wife and my children. And he did that, so I’m grateful.”
After her parents went away, Savannah gained custody of not only Grayson but Chloe, the biological daughter of Todd’s eldest son Kyle, whom they adopted in 2016. During the interview, their youngest son said that he was happy his family didn’t have to “hide their political views anymore,” nodding to their outspoken support of Trump.
Lara, too, asked Todd and Julie if they’d spoken with the president since their release. They both answered no, though Savannah reminded her father that he briefly spoke with Trump on FaceTime while she was speaking with Margo Martin, the president’s special assistant and communications adviser.
Todd said when he saw Trump, “All I could say was, ‘Thank you. You have reunited me with my family, and you have saved us, so thank you.’”
In late May, Martin shared a video of Trump on the phone with Savannah and Grayson alerting them that their parents were being granted full pardons.
Todd and Julie were found guilty on federal charges including bank fraud and tax evasion in June 2022. The couple was later sentenced in November of the same year, with Todd receiving 12 years in prison plus 16 months of probation, while Julie Chrisley got seven years behind bars and 16 months of probation
The news of their pardon came almost a week after Lifetime announced the family’s return to reality TV with a brand-new series. The Untitled Chrisleys Project will be “pulling back the curtain” on the Chrisleys’ “unprecedented access to their lives in a deeply personal and dramatic new series.” Cameras followed Todd and Julie’s post-prison reunion.
At a press conference following their release, Todd and Savannah teased their forthcoming show. The Special Forces season two contestant said they “had been filming and we had just wrapped filming for all intents and purposes. And then we get the call that they had been pardoned. So we picked right back up and we’re excited because I think this new show is going to give, first off, it’s going to give people a look into the trial and things that we went through and we’re going to set the record straight, put some documents out there.”
“You will see the first time he and Mom see each other for the first time,” Savannah added.
During their sit-down with Lara, Todd and Julie further spoke about their individual experiences in prison. They both shared stories about the men and women they met while locked up, and said they’re committed to advocating for people in prison.
“I call them my prison sons, the young men that came in there. And I stay in touch with the ones that I’ve sent out of there before I left, and I have now gotten on the visitor’s list of the ones that I left behind because those kids deserve a second chance. You know, you’ve got kids in prison for selling marijuana, but now it’s almost legalized everywhere,” Todd said. “But yet we don’t make that retroactive for these young men. These young men still have a chance. They’re in their 20s, 30, 33 years old. Let them come home. Let them get on a job. Let them pay taxes.”
He added: “It is my job, and it is my calling at this point, and it’s been placed in my spirit that I am to help the men that I have left behind because I had not one negative interaction when I was in prison with any inmate.”