Yeah, I said it.
If Trump is the 4D chess master that many believe him to be, he will pledge to pardon Hunter Biden on the campaign trail. There’s nothing to lose and a lot to gain. But he should still hold this hand a bit longer.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted earlier this week that Joe Biden has not ruled out commuting Hunter’s sentence after it’s handed down. Leaving the option open, in all likelihood, means this is what he will do to save his son. That’s fine, it’s only natural for a father.
Karine Jean-Pierre refuses to say if Biden will commute Hunter’s forthcoming sentence following his felony convictions on gun crimes.
Biden has previously claimed he wouldn’t *pardon* him. pic.twitter.com/ujTjMXGnAm
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 12, 2024
Once Biden commutes the sentence, he will lose his carefully cultivated air of “respect the process” haughtiness. He will have thrown institutions, norms and the judicial process to the wayside, just as he accuses Trump of doing. For those few critical voters who can still be persuaded, the election will appear to be between two wrecking balls duking it out.
Trump should wait for Biden to paint himself as a hypocrite and then pledge to pardon Hunter anyway as the election nears.
Trump has nothing to gain from keeping Hunter behind bars as president. Hunter’s a useful face to rally against in an election year as the poster boy of D.C. corruption, but once in office, he’s pretty much useless.
Trump can score some major political points with the very same voters who put Joe in office in 2020 — the swing voters and moderates who thought he would usher in the normalcy, healing and unity he promised on the campaign trail. Some grace to his opponent would show these people Trump can succeed where Biden failed.
Always take the opportunity to endear people to you and your cause — especially if it costs you nothing. A strategically timed pardon won’t just make Biden look bad, it will show even normies what a magnanimous guy Trump truly is.
