On Dec. 1 in an interesting turn of events, President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who faced sentencing this month due to tax and gun convictions. It is very likely that Biden chose to pardon his son due to his presidency being on its last leg and ending in the very near future. This descision brought about a lot of controversey, and many have stated that pardoning his son would be a conflict of interest.
Biden previously vowed not to pardon his son, but the pending sentences evidently concerned the president greatly. First lady Jill Biden also supported his decision, claiming that it is obvious, considering Hunter is her son.
Biden pardoning his son is very hypocritical as he vowed to not do this, but the burden it was on his mental health seemed to just be too much. Hunter is Joe Biden’s last living son and Biden cited concern that the upcoming Trump presidency would target Hunter Biden unfairly. Biden suffered greatly after the fatal car crash that killed his wife and daughter when he just became a U.S. senator. This has changed Biden’s whole mentality; he has great pride for his family while also wanting to stand on his words.
Since June, when his son first faced these charges, President Biden has become increasingly stressed as the idea of Hunter relapsing. This could contribute to Biden deciding to step down and not run for president once again in this year’s presidential election, according to the New York Times. It is not outlandish to believe that Hunter’s charges played a big part in the stress as president was too much.
Hunter’s gun charges, tax charges and former addictions potentially played a part in his decision to abruptly step out of the presidential race. This decision, even if hypocritical, adds up, especially considering Biden’s history with familial issues. It had become evident that the President now cares more about family than politics, especially with this being one of the last calls he will make as the president of the United States
Photo credit: “Joe Biden” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
