By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-12-13 21:01:21 | Updated at 2024-12-14 00:03:17
3 hours ago
CV NEWS FEED // Only 22% of American adults approve of President Joe Biden’s Dec. 1 decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found.
Overall, 51% said they disapproved of the pardon, while 18% remained indifferent. Broken down by political affiliation, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to approve of the move (38% vs. 7%). The majority of Republicans (80%) disapproved, while a slim majority of Democrats (51%) also opposed the pardon.
AP News reported that the pardon resulted in “bipartisan uproar” in Washington, D.C., as Biden had stated several times that he would not use his power to issue pardons to benefit his own family.
Hunter was convicted on gun and tax charges June 11. BBC reported that Biden said at a June G7 summit that he would “abide by the jury decision” and refuse to pardon his son.
According to AP News, many see the pardon as Biden breaking his promise, while others see it as a father trying to help his son under any circumstances.
“I know it’s not right to believe politicians as far as what they say compared to what they do, but he did explicitly say, ‘I will not pardon my son,’” a Republican who opposed the move said, according to AP News. He later added, ““He does have that right to pardon anybody he wants. But he just should have kept his mouth shut, and he did it because it was before the election, so it’s just a bold-faced lie.”
However, a Democrat who supported the president’s decision said he understood the pardon.
“You’re gonna leave office and not pardon your kid? I mean, it’s a no-brainer to me,” he said, according to AP News.
According to the survey, older Americans were more likely than younger ones to approve of the pardon, with roughly one-third of adults aged 60 years or older supporting the move and just 20% of younger adults approving.
The survey also found that white adults were more likely to oppose the pardon than Hispanic or Black adults, who were more supportive of the president’s decision or remained neutral.
