A plurality of Americans believe President Joe Biden’s presidential pardons are “inappropriate,” according to the latest weekly survey from the Economist/YouGov.
The survey asked, “Do you think the way President Biden has used the power to pardon or commute the sentences of people convicted of federal crimes has been appropriate or inappropriate?”
A plurality, 46 percent, described it as “inappropriate,” while 28 percent said it is “appropriate.” Just over a quarter, 26 percent, remain unsure.
There is major partisan divide on this matter, as a majority of Democrats, 55 percent, believe Biden’s actions on these pardons has been “appropriate.” Only 17 percent said it is not. However, most Republicans, 71 percent, deem Biden’s actions on this matter “inappropriate,” and a plurality of independents, 48 percent, agree.
Only 12 percent of Republicans and 19 percent of independents believe Biden’s actions regarding pardons has been “appropriate” in nature.
The survey was taken December 15 – 17, 2024, among 1,553 U.S. adult citizens. It has a +/- 3.4 percent margin of error.
It follows Biden issuing presidential pardons to 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes and commuting the sentences of close to 1,500 individuals. As Breitbart News reported, this makes it the “largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.”
Notably, the survey came ahead of Biden doubling down and commenting the sentences of 37 of 40 individuals on federal death row.
“Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden claimed in a December 23 statement, asserting that he was “guided by [his] conscience and [his] experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President, and now President” to make that decision.
“I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” he added.
A presidential pardon that received the most pushback was that of his own son, Hunter Biden. The 82-year-old pardoned his criminal son in his final weeks in office after years of denying he would do so.
“No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” Biden concluded in a December 1 statement.
“There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution,” he said, adding, “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”
Notably, Biden’s pardon extends all the way back to 2014, which includes Hunter’s role in Ukraine, serving on the board of corrupt Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
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That pardon came despite Biden and his administration lying to the American people repeatedly throughout the years, as both denied his intentions to pardon Hunter.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre lied about it as recently as November 7, 2024, flatly telling a reporter, “No,” when asked if Biden had any intention of pardoning his son.
“We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no,” she claimed.
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