NBC News Chief Political Analyst Chuck Todd blasted President Biden this week for pardoning his son Hunter Biden, saying it did “real damage” to the country.
Todd argued this point in Wednesday’s segment “Have a press meet now,The daily show, which airs on NBC News Now, the network’s streaming service, said Biden’s move would set a precedent for a flood of future presidential pardons and further undermine the country’s faith in his claims that the US justice system unfairly targeted his son. Institutions.
“You have the leading Democrat in America and the leading Republican in America both agree on one thing: The Justice Department has been politicized. That’s absolutely — that’s long-term damage,” he told show host Ali Vitali.
Todd appeared on the show to talk about his latest column, “The Trumpification of Joe Biden,“It provided his theory about the damage Biden’s pardon has done to the rule of law in America.
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NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd criticized President Biden’s son’s pardon on Wednesday’s episode of “Meet the Press Now.” (Screenshot/NBC News)
Biden made the announcement Sunday evening He forgave his son From any crimes they “committed or may have committed” against the US from January 1, 2014 to December 1, 2024.
In his statement, Biden accused the Justice Department of “unfairly” targeting his son. He wrote, “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere in the decision-making of the Department of Justice, and I kept my word even as I watched my son be prosecuted, selectively and unfairly.”
During his “Meet the Press Now” show, Todd began by lamenting that the president’s move would give a future president — namely Trump — a “permission card” to exercise clemency.
“Now you have given them permission,” said the analyst. “Unprecedented acts — any presidential act gets passed down to the next president. And we’ve seen this through history, through our own history, and how the presidency has worked: Once one thing happens, it suddenly becomes, ‘OK, we’ve done it before.’ So we can do it again.
He then pointed to two aspects of the pardon as “extraordinarily troubling,” the first being that Biden “uses the exact same rhetoric” in his regular attacks on President-elect Donald Trump that the DOJ says is weaponized against him.
“I could have said to you, ‘Did Donald Trump say this or did Joe Biden say this?’ And a lot of people might have said, ‘Oh this is what Trump says.’ We’re not used to what Joe Biden says about the rule of law and the justice system.”
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President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden (L) and his wife Melissa Cohen leave a courtroom during their tax evasion trial on September 5, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (via Robin Beck/AFP Getty Images)
A second troubling point is the fact that successive presidents have each received their own “security blanket pardon.”
“So now we’re in a situation where each party comes in and as they leave, everyone gets their security blanket. ‘Okay, how long do you want? Do you want a 10-year term?’ said, slamming the decade-long window of Biden’s pardon for Hunter.
“Because we’ve now established this 10-year window where you can — you know, get out of jail free card,” he said, marveling at the idea.
“Guess what? There’s a precedent for that now, and that’s what’s so damaging about this decision,” Todd declared.
He briefly expressed sympathy for Biden having to make this tough decision, but concluded that “it has done real harm to the country.”
Chuck Todd suggests that President Biden is ’emotionally unfit’ to be president after pardoning his son Hunter. (via Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg/William B. Plowman/NBC Getty Images)
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Todd’s NBC comments in a Substack.com interview with host Chris Cilizza speak to the amnesty. during conversationTodd said he “knew 100%” that Biden would pardon his son, adding that he “wasn’t going to leave office without doing everything he could to protect his son.”
Todd said Biden “probably should never run” for president, saying his family drama has rendered him “emotionally incompetent.”
