Reaction to President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter has led to a predictably polarized response along party lines.
Some Republicans have seized on President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden to criticize the president of lying after pledging he would abide court decisions, while many came to the president’s defense and accused the right-wing of a double standard.
President-elect Donald Trump took to Truth Social to slam Biden for « an abuse and miscarriage of Justice! »
« Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? » Trump wrote.
Steven Cheung, President-elect Donald Trump’s communications director, told Newsweek, « The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proven that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system. »
« That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people », Cheung said.
Donald Trump Jr. had a more direct criticism of Biden, writing on Truth Social: « Everyone with a brain knew he was going to do it. He was just going to do it when it was if no consequence to democrat electability. »
While he did not post any comment directly on the news, Elon Musk reposted Donald Trump Jr.’s comment on X, where Trump Jr. did not include the « with a brain » part of his Truth Social post.
Republican Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley wrote on social media platform X that he was « shocked » Biden chose to pardon his son because « he said many many times he wouldn’t & I believed him », adding, « Shame on me. »
Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio also took to X to express his confusion about the president’s change of heart, writing: « Democrats said there was nothing to our impeachment inquiry », referring to the long-running Republican effort to bring charges against Biden.
« If that’s the case, why did Joe Biden just issue Hunter Biden a pardon for the very things we were inquiring about? » Jordan asked.
Political commentator Ben Shapiro slammed the president for his decision to issue the pardon, saying that Biden « has always been a venal liar who utilized his political power to pursue familial gain. So of course he’s pardoning Hunter. He was always going to pardon Hunter. Hunter was the bagman. »
Shapiro and many other voices on the right have seized on the timeframe of Hunter’s pardon to note that it starts before he joined Ukrainian gas company Burisma’s board of directors. Shapiro later posted a video trying to connect the dots on this narrative.
A surprising voice to weigh in on the pardon is Dr.
