President Joe Biden has been taking lots of heat, from Democrats as well as Republicans, for changing his mind about pardoning his son Hunter.
He had said unequivocally that he wouldn’t pardon Hunter but would “accept the jury’s verdict, whatever that is.” He repeated that vow several times.
And in a “normal” world, such a decision would be considered highminded and noble.
But since Donald Trump will again occupy the White House beginning in January, with all the power both for good and bad that the Presidency brings, our world is far from normal.
Donald Trump himself isn’t normal. He is an incomplete person. Most people have at least some degree of empathy, that lets them put themselves in someone else’s shoes and feel the pain another person feels when separated from a loved one, or unfairly fired from a job, or hurting from a physical injury.
Not Donald. Over the nearly 10 years Trump has been in politics, I have seen him in many, many situations involving other people. I have never seen any indication that he genuinely feels any other person’s distress. During the uproar that came over Trump’s firstterm policy of separating even very young children from their illegalimmigrant parents at the southern border, for instance, he was apparently perfectly happy with the cruel policy.
Until, of course, it gained him so much negative publicity that he couldn’t stand it. But he has apparently fretted about having to stop it, and is considering reinstating it in his next term, in spite of the fact that the policy didn’t lessen border crossings as was claimed when it was begun (Stuart Anderson, “Trump’s Family Separation Immigration Policy: How History Could Repeat,” Forbes, August 11, 2024).
“Illegal entry, based on border arrests, was lower in July 2024 than during Donald Trump’s last month in office,” the Anderson article says. “It was also lower in Barack Obama’s last full year as president.”
With Trump, it appears, cruelty is the point. He chooses cruelty when a more benign practice could be more effective.
Oh, Trump has learned to fake empathy sometimes, because he realizes that appearing to care about others can make him look good. But he can’t keep it up long. Soon he reverts to his real self, arrogant and superselfish.
So in terms of Biden’s pardoning his son, what does it matter what sort of man Donald Trump is?
Because Hunter was due to be sentenced soon (December 12 on federal gun charges and December 16 on federal tax evasion charges). Those sentences could have been fairly light, reflecting the fact that these are first offenses and that Hunter has clearly turned his life around, with five and a half years of sobriety (Carol E. Lee and Sarah Fitzpatrick, “President Biden pardons his son Hunter,” www.nbcnews.com/ politics/joe-biden/joe-biden-issue- pardon-son-hunter-bidenrcna).
If he would get a light sentence, with no jail time, fair enough.
But he could have ended up in prison. Judges aren’t supposed to be swayed by whether some powerful person wants to see “the book thrown at“ a convicted person, but such influence does sometimes happen. And Trump has vowed vengeance on people he considers his enemies, including everyone named Biden.
Things can happen to people who end up in prison. Some get beaten up or raped by other inmates, occasionally by a guard. Some even get killed.
Perhaps those things wouldn’t happen to Hunter. But knowing Trump’s vindictive nature, wanting revenge on people for even small slights that others would simply laugh off, and knowing how he has carried through with threats against his victims in the past, should Joe Biden have taken the chance that his son would be spared? That Trump wouldn’t have orchestrated the death of a Biden whose situation made him vulnerable to attack?
Some have been making the argument that, by pardoning a family member, Biden has legitimized Trump’s lavish use of the pardon power on behalf of his buddies and cronies.
Does anyone really think Trump would be at all hindered about granting pardons if Biden had not pardoned Hunter? That sounds nonsensical in view of the Orange One’s record of doing whatever he figures he can get away with.
I’m with Biden on this one. If he’s criticized for the pardon, so be it. At least his son won’t be getting killed in prison.