Biden flip-flop on pardoning son Hunter is wildly unpopular with Americans, poll finds

President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter after previously vowing he would not give his son a pass has the approval of only 20% of Americans, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found about half of adults disapprove of the pardon, which came after Hunter was convicted on felony gun and tax charges. 

About 18% of adults neither approved nor disapproved of the decision, while 8% said they didn’t know enough to say one way or the other, according to the poll.

While Democrats were more likely to approve of the pardon than Republicans and Independents, the poll showed just 38% of Democrats approve compared to 27% who said they disapproved of the about-face.

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Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter has been met with widespread criticism, with only about 20% of Americans approving of the decision, according to an AP-NORC poll released Wednesday. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)

About 80% of Republicans and 51% of Independents disapproved of the pardon, according to the poll. 

Biden issued a sweeping pardon for Hunter on Dec. 1 after he stated on record multiple times that he would not pardon him should a jury convict his son.

President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden on Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

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The first son had been convicted in two separate federal cases earlier this year. He 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 president argued in a statement that Hunter was “singled out only because he is my son” and that there was an effort to “break Hunter” in order to “break me.”

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Reporters grilled White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre a day after the pardon, asking whether Biden and his surrogates lied to the American people. Jean-Pierre responded, “One thing the president believes is to always be truthful with the American people,” and repeatedly pointed to Biden’s own statement on the matter.

Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this report.