Democrats Take Issue With Their Own Party’s Refusal to Break With Biden Over Hunter Pardon

Many in the Democratic party had expected that there would be a unified outcry against Joe Biden’s controversial pardoning of his son Hunter. However, there remains a profound unwillingness to fully break with Biden after the pardon, the latest in bitter party infighting since Democrats lost the 2024 presidential race.

In the wake of Biden’s pardon, Democrats overall had no unified message: House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries didn’t criticize Biden but called for more pardons for “unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses”; others accused Biden of improperly using his power to help his family. California Gov. Gavin Newsom was the most prominent Democrat critical of Biden, saying that he was “disappointed” and trusted the president when he previously said he wouldn’t pardon his son.

But many — including other potential 2028 hopefuls — remained silent or defended Biden.

Kurt Ehrenberg, a former top Bernie Sanders adviser in New Hampshire, said the pardon was a “big F-you to the Democratic Party that ousted him.”

“He’s got nothing to lose. His friends threw him over the side. He did what was best for him, which is always what Joe Biden does,” he said.

Or as one veteran Democratic strategist put it: “We just spent three weeks talking about how the party will change its compass and tactics and re-orient to a winning strategy — and this is more of the same.”

“It’s problematic, and it’s a feature, not a tick, of the Biden presidency,” added the strategist, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “I think it’s terrible that he did it and that no Democrats are speaking up.”

Many members of his own party view Biden’s pardon as particularly galling in part because they defended his decision to run for office again when it was clear most voters didn’t want him to. Then, they defended him amid calls for him to drop out. If there ever was an opening for top Democrats to break with Biden, it was in the pardon, which drew bipartisan criticism this week.

“It’s like ‘Thank you Joe,’ it’s like a parting gift,” veteran Democratic strategist Paul Maslin said sarcastically.

“We’re gonna be saddled with this — how long and how hard I don’t know,” he added. “But do you think for a second the Republicans are gonna let this go and not remind us of it for months if not years to come?”