Ah, the art of the narrative. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was back at it early this week, insisting President Joe Biden was “being truthful to the American people” when he repeatedly declared he would not pardon his son, Hunter Biden. The twist? According to Jean-Pierre, Biden only decided to issue the pardon this weekend. Forget the months of private discussions reported earlier—it’s all about the timing, people!
Speaking to reporters from Air Force One, Jean-Pierre defended Biden’s about-face with the finesse of a seasoned spin artist. “First of all, one of the things that the president always believes is to be truthful to the American people,” she said as if repeating it enough times would make it true. She pointed out that Biden mentioned his “wrestling” with the decision in a statement. So naturally, a weekend epiphany erases months of contradictions, right?
Except… it doesn’t. Hours before Jean-Pierre’s briefing, NBC News dropped a report that Biden had been privately mulling over the idea of pardoning Hunter for months. Back in June, after Hunter’s felony gun conviction, Biden and his inner circle decided the public narrative would be a firm “no,” even though a pardon was still on the table. Fast-forward to now, and it looks like that no was more of a “not yet.”
Jean-Pierre previously sparred with reporters over the topic, doubling down on the “no” as recently as July. “It’s still a no. It will be a no. It is a no,” she told AP’s Zeke Miller. Biden himself echoed that stance, proclaiming he would “abide by the jury decision” and not pardon his son.
Of course, the media swooned over Biden’s “heroic” commitment to principles. MSNBC’s Andrew Weissmann gushed over Biden’s “rule of law” devotion, and Morning Joe’s Willie Geist called it “extraordinary.” And now? Biden has issued a sweeping pardon for Hunter, covering everything from gun charges to tax evasion—and then some.
It’s the most expansive pardon in U.S. history and the first time a sitting president has pardoned their child. But don’t worry, Jean-Pierre assures us this was totally spontaneous because nothing screams “truthful,” like rewriting the timeline when it’s convenient.
