More than half of voters believe President Joe Biden was wrong to pardon his son Hunter.
And our exclusive new poll finds that Americans believe his actions, after months of promises he wouldn’t make his son a special case, are as damaging to trust in politics as some of the worst scandals in recent decades. , like Watergate, the Iran-Contra controversy, or Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky.
The result is that Biden’s historically low approval rating drops another four points, to 37 percent, according to the JL Partners poll of 804 registered voters.
The outgoing president, 82, announced Sunday night that he had signed a pardon for Hunter, saying his federal gun and tax convictions were politically motivated.
The reaction was swift and damning. Democratic Party allies were among those who warned that it set a dangerous precedent for future presidents.
Our poll, which was released Sunday night, found that 52 percent of respondents concluded that Biden was wrong to forgive his son, compared to just 29 percent who said he was right.
Republicans were overwhelming in their disapproval: 79 percent to 13 percent.
But even Democrats had a hard time defending their actions. Less than half (47 percent) said they had done the right thing.q
JL Partners surveyed 804 registered voters on December 2. The results have a margin of error of plus/minus 3.5 percentage points.
President Joe Biden spent Thanksgiving with his son Hunter before announcing his decision Sunday night, shortly before flying to Angola.
In total, about 54 percent said it set a bad precedent. Only 10 percent said it set a good precedent.
“This survey shows that by pardoning his son Joe Biden has put his own reputation at stake,” said James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners.
‘By an overwhelming margin, voters think it was the wrong thing to do.
‘Democratic voters can’t bring themselves to defend him either.
‘As Biden leaves office, his already negative approval ratings have taken a new hit. He will retire as a tarnished political figure: seen as old, ineffective and who has now made a decision that voters believe will ruin Americans’ confidence in democracy.’
Half of voters said the pardon was as damaging (21 percent) or more (29 percent) to public trust as Clinton’s affair with a White House intern. The then president was impeached after being accused of giving misleading testimony by denying having had ‘sexual relations’ with Lewinsky.
And the pardon is even on par with some of the most destructive scandals in recent political history.
Respondents (50 percent) said it was as damaging as Watergate, which led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon, and as bad as (54 percent) the Iran-Contra affair, when it emerged that top Reagan administration officials facilitated secretly selling weapons. to Tehran as part of a plan to use the profits to support rebels in Nicaragua.
Hunter Biden’s problems are due to his years of incorporation
A photograph showing former White House intern Monica Lewinsky meeting President Bill Clinton at a White House function presented as evidence in documents from the Starr investigation and released by the House Judiciary Committee on the 21st September 1998.
Richard Nixon bids farewell to the White House staff in 1974. A break-in at the Watergate Hotel by Republican operatives set off a cascade of events that ultimately led to his resignation.
When voters were asked how well the president was performing last week, about 41 percent said they approved of his performance. About 47 percent said they disapproved.
When asked in the hours after the performance, 37 percent said they approved (down four) and 48 percent said they disapproved, causing their rating to sink even further.
The pardon is the latest twist in a legal saga that has tormented the president’s son since his chaotic days as a drug addict.
In September, he pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in Los Angeles and was due to be sentenced on December 16.
And a Delaware jury found him guilty in June of making false statements when he bought a gun in 2018. He was also due to be sentenced on those charges later this month.
Biden and his team repeatedly and emphatically dismissed any suggestion that the president would use his pardon powers to help his son.
In June, the president was asked about the gun case and said, ‘I respect the jury’s decision. I will do it and I will not forgive him.’
A month later, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: “It’s still a no. It will be a no. It’s a no. And I have nothing more to add.
‘Will you forgive your son? No.’
Biden issued a statement Sunday night announcing the pardon of his son Hunter.
On Sunday night, just before Biden left the country, that no became a yes.
“This is the truth: I believe in the justice system, but while I have struggled with this, I also believe that crude politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice; and once I made this decision this weekend, There was no “It makes sense to delay it even further,” Biden said in announcing the pardon.
The reaction was swift and damning.
Political opponents delighted in accusing him of a humiliating 180-degree turn.
President-elect Donald Trump called the pardon “an abuse and a miscarriage of justice.”
And allies expressed frustration, warning that it would now be harder to confront Trump and his claims that he was a victim of an armed legal system.
“This is a bad precedent that could be abused by subsequent presidents and will unfortunately tarnish their reputations,” Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis wrote in a post on X.