Few Americans approve of Hunter Biden pardon: poll
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President Biden at the White House on Dec. 8. Photo: Pete Marovich/Getty Images
Just 2 in 10 Americans surveyed this month said they approve of President Biden's decision to issue a sweeping pardon for his son, according to an AP-NORC poll out Wednesday.
Why it matters: The controversial move, which Biden had previously said he would not make, drew bipartisan backlash from lawmakers in Congress and appears to have frustrated a large swath of the American public, per the poll.
The big picture: Only 22% of Americans approve of the president's decision to pardon Hunter Biden, AP reported.
- That figure is higher among Democrats (38%) and lower among Republicans (7%); 12% of independents said they approve of the pardon.
- Overall, 51% of Americans say they disapprove of the pardon, while another 18% say neither approve nor disapprove.
- About a quarter of Democrats surveyed said they disapprove of the decision, while 80% of Republicans said the same.
Driving the news: Biden issued the pardon for his son this month for any crimes "he has committed or may have committed" between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024.
- The decision reversed Biden's previous promises that he wouldn't pardon or commute his son's sentence.
- The president issued the pardon shortly before Hunter was scheduled to face sentencing for his conviction on felony gun charges and his guilty plea on felony tax charges.
Zoom out: The pardonhas particularly irked Congressional Democrats, some of whom feel the decision ceded the moral high ground that has buttressed the party's identity in the Trump era.
- Members of Congress from both parties have since inundated the president with requests for additional pardons.
Methodology: The nationwide poll of 1,251 adults was conducted December 5-9, 2024 using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. The margin of sampling error is ±3.7 percentage points.
Go deeper: Biden hits a low point with House Democrats
