I beg your pardon?

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So, Biden pardoned his son Hunter yesterday - and the reaction has been very mixed.

Some of the main criticisms I am seeing so far, and I’ll give my thoughts.

1. He previously said he would not pardon Hunter.
   • Sure, but the situation has drastically changed. The next president has explicitly talked about targeting people he considers “enemies.” Remember, this obsession with Hunter Biden has been purely political, driven by Trump and his allies. Hunter would not face the same scrutiny for his crimes if he were not a Biden.
2. It normalizes “breaking norms” - and will be used by the next administration as an excuse to break norms.
   • This criticism is ridiculous on its face, especially considering Trump’s first term and the rhetoric he has been using during his campaign.
   • Either way - I’m not convinced this move “breaks norms” to the extent many believe. It’s certainly not ideal, but it’s far from a wild or a severe situation, with all the context considered. As a reminder, Hunter’s convictions are unrelated to Joe Biden—they are tax and gun charges.
3. There are many people who deserve pardons just as much, if not more.
   • This is absolutely true. Biden should have announced this pardon alongside many pardons he ought to issue. There’s significant injustice he has the power to at least partially address.
   • My point here also addresses rule of law concerns: there should not be different rules for the President’s family. Again, Biden needs to correct other similar injustices as soon as possible before he leaves office.

Overall, I am not surprised Biden pardoned his son, despite him insisting he was not going to previously. It is also fine, and won’t encourage anything that wouldn’t already happen under the next administration. But, Biden has a lot more work to do to fix many injustices before he is gone.

Additionally, this outrage once again shows how high the bar is for Democrats but so abysmally low for MAGA. Democrats are expected to be perfect and the other side could literally do anything and it is shrugged off.