Three former aides to President Obama railed against President Biden for “lying” and making his defenders “look like they’re full of s—” by pardoning his son Hunter after previously saying he would not do so.
Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor, who were often referred to as the “Obama bros” during their tenure in the White House, discussed the ramifications of Biden’s pardon of his son, on their “Pod Save America” podcast on Tuesday.
Vietor said he understood Biden’s decision on a “human level,” but was frustrated that the president had made his defenders within the Democratic Party look “stupid” by reneging on his pledge not to pardon his son.
“Now everyone looks stupid. Everyone looks like they are full of s—,” Vietor said. “And Republicans are going to use this to argue it was politics as usual when Democrats warned of Trump’s corruption or threat to the rule or the threat to democracy. And I think that’s the piece of this I am most frustrated with, which is Joe Biden looking like a typical, lying politician. And I think that leads to a cynical feeling that all politicians are bad. They are all the same and that this is just par for the course.”
President Joe Biden speaks to reporters outside of St. Edmonds Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Del., after attending a mass, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Biden had “damaged his own reputation” and “damaged the Democratic Party’s reputation,” Vietor added.
Fellow co-host Jon Favreau called it “most infuriating” that Biden chose to pardon his son and not “a whole bunch of other people who were just government servants doing their job,” such as Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Favreau said he believed Biden when he said he would not pardon his son and now he felt like a “fool.”
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“I believed him. I feel like a f—ing fool, that’s what makes me mad about it,” he admitted.
The president’s pardon came after the first son was convicted in two separate federal cases earlier this year.
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Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor at Politicon at Pasadena Convention Center on July 29, 2017, in Pasadena, California. (John Sciulli/Getty Images for Politicon)
The younger Biden pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in September, and was convicted of three felony gun charges in June after lying on a mandatory gun purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
The pardon spares Hunter Biden from his upcoming sentencing in the two cases, but also covers all potential crimes he “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024.
Lovett feared the sweeping pardon would give Republicans ammunition to argue that Biden was acting to protect himself from allegations he profited from his son’s business dealings when he was vice president.
“Of course, conservatives are going to say, ‘See? Joe Biden is just protecting himself,'” Lovett remarked.
The former Obama aides said there was no evidence that Biden profited but the appearance of it was damaging to the Democratic Party’s reputation, nonetheless.
President Biden broke his repeated promise to not pardon his son, Hunter, announcing Sunday that he would pardon him. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden should’ve framed the pardon as a proactive measure against concerns President-elect Donald Trump would target his political enemies, Lovett argued.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
