Democratic strategist David Axelrod reportedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the manner in which President Biden conducted the pardoning of his son, Hunter Biden, stating that it was “poorly executed.”
“It was just handled poorly, on top of everything,” Axelrod said during a recent interview with Anderson Cooper.
His remarks were made less than 24 hours after Biden announced on Sunday that he would pardon his son’s three felony charges, which included the unlawful purchase and possession of a pistol in 2018.
The decision has caused consternation among political figures on both sides of the divide, with many Republicans being particularly enraged, as the president has consistently maintained his commitment to maintain a distance from his son’s legal affairs.
Biden’s decision to pardon his son was deemed “defensive” by Axelrod in anticipation of President-elect Trump’s return to the White House.
“I think part of it was defensive, worried about what they may do after he leaves office,” Axelrod continued.
Concurrently, the strategist expressed sympathy for Biden’s decision.
He was alluding to Naomi Biden, Biden’s daughter who was fatally injured in an automobile accident that also claimed the life of his first wife, Neilia Biden, in 1972.
Beau Biden, his eldest son, passed away in 2015 from brain cancer that was allegedly caused by his exposure to toxic substances during his service in the Iraq War.
Axelrod, however, expressed concern regarding the public’s perception of the act, citing a particular passage in Biden’s statement that implied that he made the decision not only as president but also as a father.
“He said, ‘I hope the American people will understand that my act as a father and a president.’ I think people will understand his act as a father, but not as a president,” he concluded.
Hunter Biden, 54, was scheduled to be sentenced in his federal firearms case on December 12 and in his tax case four days later.
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