Days after discussing the notion of President Joe Biden possibly reversing course and pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, before leaving office, The View cohosts had even more to say about the subject once it actually happened.
On Monday’s (December 2) first post-Thanksgiving episode, four cohosts — Whoopi Goldberg, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin — were on hand to discuss the POTUS’s pardon, which went against his own prior promises. While Hostin and Navarro were overwhelmingly in favor of it, and Goldberg was ambivalent but understanding of the decision, Griffin was categorically against Biden’s decision, and the conversation became a bit tense between them before the end.
“Listen, I get it. I mean, we got to convict a felon as president,” Goldberg said first. “I kind of feel like I look at the list of folks that You Know Who pardoned during the first term: He granted 237 acts of clemency, 143 pardons, and 94 commutations, including Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Charles Kushner, Steve Bannon, George Papadopoulos, Albert Pirro and Lil Wayne… It is a president’s prerogative.”
Goldberg went on to express confusion over “the pearl clutching” by the president’s detractors, saying, “It seems kind of foolish. You kind of knew he was going to do it, given all that’s happened, but maybe I’m just kooky.”
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Griffin took the floor second, saying that because she had a close relative who is still paying for their addiction-related convictions, despite getting clean, it’s unfair. “Most Americans, if they face consequences for actions that they took, they’re going to have to face them, and nobody powerful and politically connected is going to come sweep in and save them. And I think this feeds the notion to a lot of this country that there’s simply a different set of rules for folks in power.”
She then went on to justify having a different standard for Donald Trump, whose own felony convictions are now being essentially erased in light of the election results, saying, “To a lot of this country, it just becomes noise. They think that if you commit crimes and somebody powerful and connected in D.C. — right, left center, Biden, Trump — you’re going to be able to get away with it if you have some on your side. And that’s not how it is for everyday folks.” Griffin then went on to knock Biden for “lying” about his intentions to pardon his son, since he repeatedly and publicly insisted he wouldn’t do that in the past.
Hostin then took the floor and said that she, too, has loved ones who’ve been convicted of drug-related crimes — marijuana in particular — and said that because Trump, an adjudicated felon, is about to ascend to the White House again, the “policy” of having job application questions about felonies should be immediately and forever changed.
“Trump did escape responsibility for all his crimes,” Hostin continued. “He’s nominating Charles Kushner, who he pardoned, as you mentioned, as the ambassador to France. Do you know what a nice, cushy job that is, that any felon would like? So please with the hypocritical pearl-clutching by this country.” She then went on to reiterate the points she made in the prior episode about why she believes the charges brought against Hunter Biden were politically motivated. When Griffin then interrupted to ask why he didn’t admit his intentions earlier, Goldberg intervened and said it was Navarro’s turn to speak.
Navarro then offered her side of the matter, saying that on multiple occasions — including during Biden’s most recent visit to The View — she encouraged him to pardon his son. “The reason I thought it was important is because I wanted him to hear from people who support him and respect him, which I do, that some of us, I’d say most of us, think it’s okay for him to pardon Hunter because of what you just said, that so many of the people who committed this crime do not get prosecuted. Imagine the guilt that Joe Biden has to live with thinking that his son, his only surviving son, is getting prosecuted because he is his son.” She then went on to explain the egregiousness of the crimes for which Charles Hunter was convicted and ultimately pardon and said that she hopes Hunter Biden will use the “gift of freedom” he’s being given by Joe Biden for good.
Griffin then jumped back in with a question before Navarro demanded she let her finish. When she did, Griffin then said that she does understand Biden’s decision from an emotional standpoint, but demanded, “I want to understand why lie about it so long?” At that, Goldberg demanded that she stop using the word “lie” to describe the situation, and Griffin complied but continued to insist that it sets a poor “precedent.”
“It’s a precedent for all of us to open our eyes because we’ve elected someone who is in a similar situation, who didn’t have a drug problem, who knew what he was doing, who clearly stood and said, ‘I can do this.’ And he did it,” Goldberg countered. “So I think for many, many reasons, this is very different than any other situation that we have ever dealt with, because when we’re talking about who gets a pardon and who doesn’t get a pardon, this man — I think Biden had no intentions of pardoning Hunter, and I think the more stuff that went down, I think he said, ‘Well, why am I busting my behind to stay straight?’”
Navarro agreed, pointing out, “Donald Trump campaigned on retribution… He has appointed people to law enforcement positions that have said, ‘We are here for retribution and vindictiveness.’ So Joe Biden could not leave Hunter, his only son, at the mercy of these people.”
When Griffin then tried to suggest that with Trump coming in, such a precedent is dangerous, Hostin said “he’s a very small man” and it wouldn’t matter, and Goldberg decided to close the segment altogether: “I can’t believe that this is what’s freaking people out,” she said to conclude the conversation. “I’m noticing the man who would not normally be able to even vote for president is the president.”
BIDEN REVERSES COURSE ON PARDONING SON: After saying he had ruled out a pardon for his son, #TheView co-hosts weigh in on the president granting a full pardon for Hunter Biden who was convicted on tax evasion and federal gun charges. pic.twitter.com/dwhR0ZUQSL— The View (@TheView) December 2, 2024
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