The nation is still reeling from Joe Biden pardoning his son Hunter on Sunday night. This came after years of Joe repeatedly saying that he would not pardon Hunter for his various crimes.
Joe most recently denied that he would pardon Hunter back in June. At the time, when asked if he’d “ruled out a pardon” for his son, Joe emphatically replied, “Yes.”
“I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him,” Joe said at the time as Hunter was facing trial in the Delaware gun case.
That’s why it came as such a shock that Joe went forward with pardoning Hunter on Sunday night. Unfortunately for Joe, however, this is now blowing up in his face, as even Democrats are turning on him over the pardon.
On Tuesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke out to blast Joe for pardoning his son.
From Politico:
“With everything the president and his family have been through, I completely understand the instinct to protect Hunter,” Newsom said. “But I took the president at his word. So by definition, I’m disappointed and can’t support the decision.”Newsom did not elaborate further. Instead of diving into moral or ethical failures — or even its impact on executive power or the future of democracy — the California governor focused exclusively on the president shattering his trust. Biden and his aides had repeatedly asserted that he would not pardon Hunter before the about-face.
Newsom Had Been A Joe Defender
This will undoubtedly come as a shock to Joe, as he and Newsom have become close in recent years. Indeed, Newsom has been one of Joe’s most outspoken defenders throughout his presidency.
The two Democrats most recently met just two weeks ago when Newsom went to the White House to ask Joe to approve pending federal disaster relief funding. He also made a push for programs to expand access to healthcare, as well as for other clean air initiatives.
Newsom may have been a longtime supporter of Joe’s, but even he can’t abide this pardon. Joe spent years claiming to be a president who was honest and decent, yet he blatantly was lying to the American people all along. It doesn’t get much more hypocritical than that, folks!
Newsom isn’t the only prominent Democrat to turn on Joe. Hours after the pardon, Colorado’s Democrat Jared Polis issued a blistering rebuke of the president.
“While as a father I certainly understand President @JoeBiden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country,” Polis wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.”
“When you become President, your role is Pater familias of the nation,” he continued. “Hunter brought the legal trouble he faced on himself, and one can sympathize with his struggles while also acknowledging that no one is above the law, not a President and not a President’s son.”
Joe pardoning Hunter on his way out of office only cements him as one of the worst presidents of all time. In the end, even most Democrats can no longer defend the legacy of Joe Biden.
Sources: Politico, Jared Polis X
