According to Biden, the decision disproves Republican allegations of a two-tiered justice system and the DOJ’s weaponization of the president’s political opponent. Biden is close to his family, as seen by his hastily planned journey to Delaware to be with his son after the verdict, but many close to him believe the human cost will be high.
In the wake of the verdict, David Axelrod, a former top strategist in the Obama White House, stated that the most important question is how Biden will be affected psychologically.
Joe Biden, as you may know, has witnessed his son struggle with addiction and has lost two children. This is also a blow. On his podcast, “Hacks on Tap,” Axelrod stated, “This is a blow.”
However, the decision throws Trump and his campaign for a loop as they have to decide how harshly to criticize the president over his son. The former president has regularly accused Biden of being “crooked” and has called for a special counsel to look into the Biden family’s problems, but he has also openly discussed his own family’s battles with addiction.
Two days after Hunter Biden’s conviction, Trump said on Fox News on Thursday, “It’s a very tough situation for a father; it’s a very tough situation for a brother or sister; and it goes on, and it’s not stopping, whether it’s alcohol or drugs ot whatever it may be.” “That’s a trying time for any family that’s involved in that.”
Eleven days after Trump was likewise found guilty on glaringly different charges, Hunter Biden was found guilty. While Trump was found guilty on 34 criminal counts in a hush money case involving the falsification of business records, Hunter Biden was found guilty of three federal firearms charges for lying about being a drug addict during the acquisition of a handgun.
Nonetheless, the responses of each defendant to each verdict could not have been more dissimilar.
In Hunter Biden’s case, both he and his father stated they respect the jury’s decision while appreciating the younger Biden’s recuperation efforts. In contrast, Trump regularly denounced the court in his case, which he constantly claimed was “rigged” and specifically blamed on President Biden.
“From a political standpoint, [Tuesday] highlights the ultimate difference in character between the two presidential candidates: a businessman and a family man,” stated Michael LaRosa, first lady Jill Biden’s traveling press secretary throughout the 2020 campaign. “While the President and the Biden family show nothing but humility and respect for the process, the jury, the judge, and the system — even when they are handed a heartbreaking outcome — Trump and his family throw tantrums, whine, complain, or attack the judge and judicial system.”
Republicans are also questioning if the GOP has a compelling case to utilize against Hunter Biden upon his conviction in light of the conflicting results.
“Hunter Biden’s commitment undoubtedly contributes to offering a ‘But Hunter’ counterargument to left-leaning critiques of Trump’s moral character. However, it’s certainly more of a soundbite than an argument because it centers on obviously personal behavior rather than some governmental activities, according to Stewart Verdery, CEO of Monument Advocacy and a former assistant secretary under Bush at the Department of Homeland Security.
A number of the close-knit Biden family members, including first wife Jill Biden, were present at the Wilmington trial in addition to the president. Following the decision, Biden paid an impromptu visit to Wilmington before departing on Wednesday to visit his son in Italy.
One reason Republicans might not try to use Hunter Biden’s conviction for political gain is the intimate nature of the trial.
A Republican consultant pointed out that the case involves addiction and gun rights, two issues on which grassroots GOP voters may be more receptive to the president’s son.
One Republican strategist stated, “The point about the weaponization of the DOJ is right,” pointing out that Hunter Biden had previously had a plea agreement in place that would have allowed him to admit guilt to misdemeanor tax charges and spared him from prosecution for the gun allegation.
Republicans are unconcerned with the gun charge. The firearms charge is not the issue. The gun accusation was never the main issue, the strategist claimed. “It had to do with taxes, paperwork, and links to their activities abroad.”
Hunter Biden will deal with a fresh set of legal issues as election day approaches, smack in the thick of the general election.
In addition to being sentenced later this year in the gun case, the president’s son is set to face federal tax charges in a separate trial in September. In addition, there are three other state and federal charges involving Trump that are related to attempts to rig the 2020 election and possible mishandling of confidential data. However, it is highly unlikely that any of these cases will go to trial before Election Day.
However, legal disputes may find their way onto the debate stage when Presidents Biden and Trump square off in June for their first presidential debate. This could provide an insight into how both campaigns intend to handle the events that have transpired in the courts.
Thus far, the Biden campaign has called Trump a “convicted criminal” on multiple occasions. Additionally, Biden made fun of Trump throughout the trial by referring to him as “free on Wednesdays,” which is the day of the week when the court isn’t in session.
Republicans and Trump have been relatively quiet about criticizing Hunter and his father since Hunter Biden’s convictions, despite years of attacks by the Trump campaign characterizing the Biden family as being criminally corrupt.
Biden’s personal struggles may also have an impact on a larger electorate. The president made an appeal to other families who have loved ones struggling with addiction in his first remarks following his son’s verdict, stating that they “understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side.”
The former director of communications for the White House, Kate Bedingfield, stated that discussions of the difficulties faced by the Biden family during the 2020 election resonated with people.
She stated on CNN on Tuesday that “even people who maybe didn’t even feel that sympathetic towards Biden politically resonated with his family, supported his son.”
