“Welcome to America,” President Joe Biden said with a smile when asked about pardoning his son Hunter — a statement that has drawn fierce criticism from both parties as Democrats grappled with Biden’s reversal of repeated promises not to issue such a pardon.
The Sunday night announcement, which former White House officials say was long planned despite public denials, triggered calls from both Democrats and Republicans for Biden to similarly pardon Donald Trump.
“Why don’t you go ahead and pardon Donald Trump for all his charges and make it more balanced,” Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., urged on CNN.
Multiple former Biden officials expressed frustration over the administration’s deception.
“Anyone who was even close to the top knew that he was probably going to do this. Why did we pretend otherwise?” a former senior West Wing aide told CNN.
The pardon, covering any crimes Hunter “committed or may have committed” between 2014-2024, drew sharp rebuke from other Democrats as well.
“President Biden’s decision put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all,” Sen. Michael Bennet, D-C.O., wrote on X.
Constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz argued Biden should extend the same principle to Trump.
“What Hunter Biden did was criminal, whereas what Donald Trump did, certainly in New York, was not criminal. But in both cases, they would never have been prosecuted if their names were ‘Smith’ rather than Biden and Trump,” he told Newsmax.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre admitted Trump’s victory influenced the timing, confirming Biden would not have pardoned Hunter if Kamala Harris had won the election.
Presidential historians suggest the pardon could be the pinnacle of Biden’s legacy. “It’s been astonishing to watch Biden cast a long shadow over his many achievements in office simply by acting as many presidents do, which is from a place of an outsized ego,” said historian Alexis Coe.
It doesn’t seem to be bothering Biden, though. He was just laughing about the outrage.
Welcome to America, indeed.
Reporter: "Mr. President, why did you pardon your son?"
Joe Biden: "Welcome to America." pic.twitter.com/En02n6GB6S— Tiffany Fong (@TiffanyFong_) December 3, 2024