President Biden’s extraordinary decision to pardon his son Hunter has exposed deep Democratic fissures that are spilling into public view, complicating the party’s efforts to rebuild after a disastrous election.
Why it matters: For years, Democrats have responded to Donald Trump’s brazen lying, shattering of norms and alleged corruption by emphasizing their own respect for the truth, institutions and the rule of law.
- By pardoning Hunter on gun and tax convictions — or any other crimes he “may have committed” between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024 — some Democrats believe Biden has sacrificed a moral high ground that’s been foundational to the party’s identity in the Trump era.
- Other Democrats see that framing as hopelessly naive, and have posed the blunt question: What’s the point of holding the moral high ground when America just elected a convicted felon?
Zoom in: Biden’s sweeping pardon of Hunter — arguably the broadest since President Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon — drew condemnation from even Biden’s staunchest allies in Congress on Monday.
- Many sympathized with Biden’s fatherly instincts, especially given the tragedies his family has endured — but warned that the pardon would further erode Americans’ trust in government.
- For some liberal pundits, the about-face was an astonishing betrayal: Biden had explicitly ruled out pardoning his son on multiple occasions, including after it was clear that Trump — who’s vowed revenge on his political enemies — had won the election.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), a Biden ally, condemned the pardon of Hunter Biden. Screenshot via X
The other side: For other Democrats, the outrage has revealed a laughable double standard.
- Trump made sweeping use of his pardon power to help out personal friends and family members, including his daughter Ivanka’s father-in-law Charles Kushner — whom Trump just named ambassador to France.
- Trump also openly campaigned on pardoning supporters who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — discrediting the notion that the Hunter Biden case will somehow give Trump political cover to issue controversial pardons.
- “If you defended the 34x felon, who committed sexual assault, stole national security documents, and tried running a coup on his country…you can sit out the Hunter Biden pardon discussion,” tweeted Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).
The big picture: Some Democrats have grown sick of their party’s pearl-clutching in the wake of the election, seeing it as symptomatic of a broader failure to fight Trump’s fire with fire.
- “It’s time to stop playing nice. We need to stretch the limits of what’s possible and be as ruthless as Republicans when it comes to using every tool at our disposal,” Democratic strategist Mike Nellis wrote last week.
- The focus on upholding norms has been especially frustrating to members of the populist left, who say Democrats’ cultural elitism cost them enormously with working-class voters.
- Still, as swing-district Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) pointed out, the Hunter Biden saga threatens to reinforce the belief that there are two sets of rules: One for the well-connected, and one for everyone else.
The bottom line: As a new Trump era dawns in Washington, Democrats remain deeply divided over how to meet this moment. One thing’s for certain: They’ll no longer have Joe Biden to look to for answers.
