Of all the bad takes on President Joe Biden pardoning his son Hunter, MSNBC host and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart had the worst on Friday’s PBS News Hour. In Capehart’s mind, Biden was justified because Kamala Harris lost and Democrats need “to stop bringing a melon baller to a knife fight.”
Host Geoff Bennett ran down the list of reasons why people have criticized Biden’s pardon, from his pledge not to, to his claims that he would protect Justice Department independence, and asked, “Jonathan, in your view, was it justified, and what's the lasting impact?”
Capehart responded and claims that the situation has changed, “Yes, it was justified. When the president said that he would not pardon his son, wouldn't grant clemency, the facts on the ground were completely different. It's the middle of a presidential campaign. He was the candidate for president, didn't want to be viewed as interfering. He's no longer the candidate. His vice president is the presidential nominee.”
But the facts of Hunter’s case have not. Still, Capehart continued, “I am almost, 99 percent certain, that President Biden was hoping that Vice President Harris would win and that this would not be an issue. But when the person who won the race won the race by vowing a campaign — through a campaign of retribution, revenge, naming the Biden family in general and Hunter Biden, in particular, as someone or people, groups of people, he wanted to go after if he won election, of course, the president looks at the facts, says, that 'I cannot allow that to happen to my son.'”
He then essentially told Democratic critics of Biden to shut up:
For some Democrats to be complaining about how ‘you have ruined norms’ and ‘you have given him an avenue,’ have they not been paying attention to who Donald Trump is either during the campaign or during his four years as president the first go-round? And these are the same people who would be yelling at Biden had he not done something and then President Trump took action against Hunter Biden, ‘why didn't you save your son? Why didn't you help your son when you had the opportunity to do so when you were president?’ He's done it.
Bennett then took Capehart’s answer and asked New York Times columnist David Brooks for his thoughts, “Donald Trump was very clear about seeking revenge against his perceived enemies, the Bidens chief among them, does any of that change the calculus in your opinion?”
Brooks replied that it doesn’t, “Not to me. Hunter Biden has already been convicted. He was about to get sentenced. This is not going to be a Trump thing. That was already happening. I think what happened for Joe Biden, it became less politically painful to do it. So he did it.”
For Brooks, simply bringing up Trump is not good enough, “It's important to me that we have one party that actually does defend those norms, defends legitimacy, and just doesn't go in for a freewheeling nepotism.”
Bennett then tossed things back to Capehart, “We have heard Republicans already say that this pardon proves that it's Joe Biden who has politicized the Justice Department, not Donald Trump. Whether that's accurate or not, I mean, it certainly could be politically effective, especially if Donald Trump does what he says he intends to do, and that's issue pardons for the folks who were convicted in connection to the attack on the Capitol on January 6.”
A displeased Capehart retorted that “Yeah, he said he was going to do it. He said he intended to do it. He's going to do it. Whether President Biden pardoned his son or not, Trump is going to do it. No one's going to be surprised. And I take your point, David, about the erosion of norms. At a certain point, you have got to stop bringing a melon baller to a knife fight.”
Of course, Joe Biden's pardoning of family members is not some attempt by him to play by Trumpian rules. Rather, it harkens back to a Clintonian tradition that predates Trump. Claiming it is, is how you get people believing there is one set of moral standards for Trump and another for Democrats.
Here is a transcript for the December 6 show:
PBS News Hour
12/6/2024
7:23 PM ET
GEOFF BENNETT: Jonathan, in your view, was it justified, and what's the lasting impact?
JONATHAN CAPEHART: Well, one, yes, it was justified. When the president said that he would not pardon his son, wouldn't grant clemency, the facts on the ground were completely different. It's the middle of a presidential campaign. He was the candidate for president, didn't want to be viewed as interfering. He's no longer the candidate. His vice president is the presidential nominee.
I am almost, 99 percent certain, that President Biden was hoping that Vice President Harris would win and that this would not be an issue. But when the person who won the race won the race by vowing a campaign — through a campaign of retribution, revenge, naming the Biden family in general and Hunter Biden, in particular, as someone or people, groups of people, he wanted to go after if he won election, of course, the president looks at the facts, says, that “I cannot allow that to happen to my son.”
And for the — and I understand the criticisms and the brickbats that the president is taking. But for some Democrats to be complaining about how “you have ruined norms” and “you have given him an avenue,” have they not been paying attention to who Donald Trump is either during the campaign or during his four years as president the first go-round?
And these are the same people who would be yelling at Biden had he not done something and then President Trump took action against Hunter Biden, “why didn't you save your son? Why didn't you help your son when you had the opportunity to do so when you were president?” He's done it.
BENNETT: What about that, David? Did the intervening events, the reelection of Donald Trump, the fact that Hunter Biden would have been at the mercy of a Trump Justice Department, and that Donald Trump was very clear about seeking revenge against his perceived enemies, the Bidens chief among them, does any of that change the calculus in your opinion?
DAVID BROOKS: Not to me. Hunter Biden has already been convicted. He was about to get sentenced. This is not going to be a Trump thing. That was already happening. I think what happened for Joe Biden, it became less politically painful to do it. So he did it.
I have learned that Democrats have been running against corruption, against nepotism, against all the bad things Donald Trump has done. And to run against those things, you have to have a place to stand. I have to have a place to stand on legitimacy.
And I do care about norms. I think our society, our democracy, the Constitution is built on laws. But within the way the government functions, there are norms of behavior upon which our democracy depends. And one of those norms is that we have a pardon. The president gets presidential pardon power, but he cannot abuse it by just taking his family out of the picture.
In my view, he cannot abuse it by giving “pre-pardons” to people how haven't been convicted of anything. The way democracies fall is that the practices that make the democracy work get slowly abandoned step by step. And, obviously, Donald Trump is the guy abandoning those norms leap by leap. But it's important to me that we have one party that actually does defend those norms, defends legitimacy, and just doesn't go in for a freewheeling nepotism.
BENNETT: There's the defense of norms. And, Jonathan, we have heard Republicans already say that this pardon proves that it's Joe Biden who has politicized the Justice Department, not Donald Trump.
Whether that's accurate or not, I mean, it certainly could be politically effective, especially if Donald Trump does what he says he intends to do, and that's issue pardons for the folks who were convicted in connection to the attack on the Capitol on January 6.
CAPEHART: Yeah, he said he was going to do it. He said he intended to do it. He's going to do it.
Whether President Biden pardoned his son or not, Trump is going to do it. No one's going to be surprised. And I take your point, David, about the erosion of norms. At a certain point, you have got to stop bringing a melon baller to a knife fight.
