The internet filled up with reactions after President Joe Biden announced a pardon for his son Hunter on Sunday.
In a statement over the weekend, Biden, who previously vowed not to use his executive authority to pardon his son or commute his sentence, framed the charges against Hunter as a “miscarriage of justice.”
“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice—and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further,” Biden said. “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”
Hunter was set to be sentenced this month for convictions stemming from federal gun and tax evasion charges. Biden’s son has long been the target of conservatives, particularly over his previous drug use.
Reactions to the pardon were almost entirely partisan on social media, where users either celebrated or had a meltdown over the news.
The popular far-right X user Libs of TikTok highlighted Biden’s previous promises not to issue a pardon before arguing that “All Democrats do is lie.”
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh pointed to the fact that Hunter’s pardon stretches all the way back to 2014 as evidence of corruption on behalf of the president.
“If Biden had only pardoned Hunter for the gun and tax charges, you could probably defend it. Although you still couldn’t defend Biden lying to our faces about it,” Walsh wrote. “But that’s not what happened. He pardoned him for all federal crimes. A blanket pardon. Any federal crime Hunter happened to commit over a period of 11 years.”
Walsh further described the pardon as “a clear cut example of naked political corruption by our enemies” before criticizing conservatives defending Biden’s decision.
Liberals, on the other hand, are spending most of their time pointing the finger at President-elect Donald Trump in response to complaints over the pardon.
“You all are acting like Hunter Biden stole classified documents and tried to overturn a free and fair election,” X user Karly Kingsley said in a transparent reference to Trump. “Relax.
Another popular argument noted that Hunter was not a government official and that Trump is currently attempting to appoint individuals to his administration that he previously pardoned.
“To those screaming ‘OMG! Biden pardoned Hunter!’ Trump is appointing people he pardoned,” X user @Out5p0ken said referencing the pick of son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father as French ambassador. “Sit down.”
But not everyone cared about the political aspect of the pardon. Many simply opted to share memes depicting Hunter celebrating his father’s decision.
Images and videos of the Sesame Street character Elmo using cocaine were particularly popular.
In response to the pardon, Hunter said in a statement that he had “taken responsibility” for his mistakes during “the darkest days” of his addiction.
Hunter argued that those mistakes “have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport.”
“Despite all of this, I have maintained my sobriety for more than five years because of my deep faith and the unwavering love and support of my family and friends,” Hunter continued. “In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages. In recovery we can be given the opportunity to make amends where possible and rebuild our lives if we never take for granted the mercy that we have been afforded.”
The president’s son, who said he would “never take the clemency I have been given today for granted,” says he now plans to devote his life “to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”
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