Former President Joe Biden “truly changed his mind” on pardoning his son Hunter — who was convicted on federal gun and tax charges in 2024 — according to former first lady Jill Biden.
Shortly after Hunter’s conviction, President Biden publicly said “I will not pardon him” and then-White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly told the press that a pardon or commutation was off the table. But in the final weeks of his presidency, Biden signed a full and unconditional pardon for his son.
On NPR’s Newsmakers video podcast, Jill Biden told All Things Considered Host Scott Detrow that then-candidate Donald Trump’s rhetoric about Hunter’s criminal cases eventually led her husband to change his mind and pardon their son, who faced prison time.
“When he heard Trump on the TV over and over and over saying, ‘Hunter Biden should be in jail’ …,” she recalled. “It just was not fair and we knew what was going to happen. So that is why Joe changed his mind.”
When asked why the pardon was necessary since Hunter had initially been scheduled to be sentenced before Trump’s inauguration, the former first lady didn’t have a direct answer.
“Oh, my gosh,” she said. “Well, I don’t really know, but I certainly don’t think it would have been fair under Trump.”
Hear more about the former first lady’s life in the White House, her reaction to President Biden’s disastrous debate performance and why Biden changed his mind on running for a second term in the full interview above.
Can’t see the video above? Click here.