The Associated Press decided to do a poll asking about Biden's scandals. Their story by Josh Boak and Linley Sanders started gently: "Ethical concerns are casting a shadow over President Joe Biden as he seeks reelection amid investigations into his son Hunter and an impeachment inquiry". The headline was also gentle:
Hunter Biden investigations lead to ethical concerns about President Biden, an AP-NORC poll shows
But the poll findings were rough: "35 percent of U.S. adults believe the president himself has done something illegal. An additional 33 percent say they think the Democratic president behaved unethically, but not illegally." That's 68 percent of the public.
Jazz Shaw at Hot Air made fun of the 30 percent who said Biden did nothing wrong. "What planet are these people from and do they ever watch anything on television other than reruns of Sex and the City?"
For their part, AP's Boak and Sanders found cynicism in the results:
The survey’s findings point toward a U.S. political system riven with cynicism and suspicion. Having fractured along partisan lines, the public largely appears to judge Joe Biden as much based on his party affiliation as the known facts.
Roughly two-thirds of Republicans say they think Joe Biden is guilty of crimes pertaining to his son, but only 8% of Democrats and 38% of independents agree. About an additional third in each party say they think Joe Biden at least did something unethical. A solid majority of Democrats (58%) maintain that the president did nothing wrong.
This is the same Josh Boak that couldn't ask the president about the scandals when he had a chance in June of 2022. Instead, he sounded like a Biden aide, asking softball questions like "How do you as a president provide a sense of stability and strength?"
The AP duo even suggested Biden's just a good dad, and people think the "mere existence" of a probe proves something:
Joe Biden has said only that he loves and supports his son, whose drug addiction has formed the basis of a gun charge against him. Hunter Biden was silent for years as Republican attacks swirled, but has now gone on the offensive. He is suing operatives who obtained and spread his personal data. That data has been used in the GOP probes, including embarrassing images that were shown in House committee hearings.
The president has said little in an effort to avoid any appearance that he is meddling in the Justice Department probe. But it hasn’t been taken that way by some voters, who see the mere existence of the investigation as proof of their own beliefs that politicians are instinctively underhanded.
AP's duo offered their own cynicism: "GOP lawmakers are seeking in part to distract from the increasing legal peril of GOP front-runner Trump, who is facing four criminal cases," and "Americans are slightly more likely to disapprove (39%) than approve (33%) of the House impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. About one-quarter say that they neither approve nor disapprove."
