Joe Biden is Over It/Has Pardoned Hunter Biden

Today, Joe Biden signed a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden. A full and unconditional pardon relating to Hunter's illegal gun ownership, tax issues, all of it. Biden (the elder) released a statement saying he was doing it because he felt Hunter was treated differently by the justice system due to his relation to Joe and that was unfair. I know the real reason, however: Joe Biden is done. He's done with Republicans who fought him tooth and nail to accomplish anything good for our Nation as it clawed its way back from the COVID-19 pandemic. He's done with Democrats who forced him to not run for President and how as a result he dropped out of the race way late for Kamala Harris to take his place...and she still lost. Joe Biden is done with politics once he leaves office this January and he doesn't care what anyone thinks anymore.

Now, Trump has always done this kind of bullshit and is already making it clear he's going to appoint loyalists and relatives to positions of power the day he takes office having won the white house for a nonconsecutive second. Biden was a career politician (for better or worse) who wanted to follow the rules and do whatever helped the greater good. It got him pushed out of a reelection bid (I mean, we all were thinking he was going to lose, but now who knows considering how good it looked for Kamala and all that got us), and it didn't do any good. Republicans won the white house, Senate, and House. They pulled off a trifecta with their empty promises and hateful rhetoric that more than half the Nation lapped up, and I imagine Joe Biden saw it all and felt a mix of rage, hopelessness, and defeat. I know I still feel that way about the election, but unlike Joe Biden, I don't have the power to do anything about it. 

Biden isn't going to try to stop Trump from assuming office like some kind of January 6th redux, but he can still throw up a couple middle-fingers to everybody, and pardoning Hunter is quite a big flipping of the bird. We can talk about the political implications this could have, but what does it matter? Biden is done and the Democrats lost it all. Biden is basically just flicking a lighter while a building (our nation)  burns down around him--sure it isn't a good idea, but the house is already ablaze so what harm could a few extra sparks do anyway? Joe Biden is a lame-duck President who doesn't give a hoot anymore. He lost one son, Beau, to cancer, and he doesn't want to lose another to the criminal justice system. Therefore, he did something unquestionably in poor judgment with his power to help a family member. He did something that we would shrug at if Trump did it but which was shocking for Biden--he showed he can be selfish. Trump proves every day he is an incredibly flawed person and today Biden showed some cracks too. He doesn't care about his party anymore, they've self-inflicted enough wounds--again, they lost everything.

The one funny thing about this is there is basically nothing anyone can do about this. A pardon can't be taken back and ol' Joe can't get in trouble as this was an official act he did as President--something the Supreme Court ruled he is legally exempt from when people were trying to bring charges against Trump. A ruling that protected Trump has indirectly served as quite useful to Joe and Hunter. Talk about the Biden's finding a silver lining in a major shitstorm cloud, eh? Still, I didn't have Joe Biden basically saying, "Forgot all ya'll," on my bingo card for 2024. It's been a year.