More than half of voters say Biden was wrong to pardon son Hunter, saying scandal is as damaging as Watergate

More than half of voters believe President Joe Biden was wrong when he pardoned his son Hunter.

And our exclusive new poll shows that Americans believe his actions, after months of promises not to make a special case of his son, are as damaging to trust in politics as some of the worst scandals of recent decades, like Watergate. the controversy between Iran and the Contra, or Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky.

As a result, Biden’s historically low approval rating drops another four points, to 37 percent, according to the JL Partners survey of 804 registered voters.

The 82-year-old lame duck president announced Sunday evening that he had signed a pardon for Hunter, saying his gun and federal tax convictions were politically motivated.

The response was swift and devastating. Allies in the Democratic Party were among those who warned that this set a dangerous precedent for future presidents.

Our poll, launched Sunday evening, found that 52 percent of respondents concluded Biden was wrong to pardon 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 struggled to defend his actions. Less than half (47 percent) said he did the right thing.

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 evening, shortly before flying to Angola

Overall, about 54 percent said it set a bad precedent. Only 10 percent said a good precedent had been set.

“This poll shows that by pardoning his son, Joe Biden took a stake in his own reputation,” said James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners.

“Voters overwhelmingly think this was wrong.

“Democratic voters can’t bring themselves to defend it either.

“With Biden leaving office, his already negative approval ratings have taken another hit. He will retire as a tarnished political figure – seen as old and ineffective, and now that he has made a decision that voters believe will cripple Americans’ faith in democracy.”

Half of voters said the pardon was as damaging (21 percent) or more damaging (29 percent) to public trust as Clinton’s affair with a White House intern. The then-president was accused of giving misleading testimony when he denied having “sexual relations” with Lewinsky.

And the pardon even appears in some of the most destructive scandals in recent political history.

Respondents (50 percent) said it was as damaging as Watergate, which brought down President Richard Nixon, and as bad as (54 percent) the Iran-Contra affair, when it emerged that senior officials in the Reagan administration secretly facilitated arms sales. to Tehran as part of a plan to use the proceeds to support rebels in Nicaragua.

Hunter Biden’s problems stem from his years of addition

A photo showing former White House intern Monica Lewinsky meeting with President Bill Clinton at a White House function submitted as evidence in documents by the Starr investigation and released by the House Judiciary Committee on September 21 1998

Richard Nixon says goodbye to the White House staff in 1974. A break-in at the Watergate hotel by Republican operatives set off a chain of events that ultimately led to his resignation

When voters were asked last week how well the president was performing, 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 of it (down four) and 48 percent said they did not approve, further tanking his rating.

The pardon is the latest twist in a legal saga that has plagued the president’s son since his chaotic drug-addicted days.

In September, he pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in Los Angeles and was scheduled 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 expected to be sentenced on these charges later this month.

Biden and his team repeatedly and emphatically ruled out 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 stand by the jury’s decision. I will do that and I will not pardon 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 further to add.

‘Will he forgive his son? No.’

Biden released a statement Sunday evening announcing a pardon for his son Hunter

On Sunday evening, just before Biden was to leave the country, that no became a yes.

“Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I’ve struggled with this, I also believe that raw politics has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice — and when I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense to delay it further,” Biden said as he announced the pardon.

The response was swift and devastating.

Political opponents loved to accuse him of a humiliating turnaround.

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 tackle Trump and his claims that he was the victim of a weaponized justice system.

“This is a bad precedent that could be abused by future presidents and will unfortunately tarnish his reputation,” Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis wrote in a post on X.