Whoopi Goldberg and her lefty cohorts on “The View” went to the mat Monday in defense of President Biden’s sweeping pardon of his son Hunter, writing it off as just “what presidents do” and dismissing criticism of the controversial move as “foolish” and “pearl-clutching.”
Goldberg launched straight into her defense of Biden during the ABC TV show’s “Hot Topics” segment by rattling off a list of people President-elect Donald Trump pardoned during his first term, including Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.
“That’s what presidents do every time. They do it every time, they pardon somebody, so I’m not sure why the pearl-clutching is happening now, except that that’s what folks want to do. But it seems kind of foolish,” Goldberg said.
Nearly all of the show’s other co-hosts were in ideological lock-step with Goldberg as usual, with the panel’s lone conservative voice, Alyssa Farah Griffin — who served as press secretary of the Department of Defense during Trump’s first term — chiming in with the only dissent.
“Most Americans, if they face consequences for actions that they took, they’re going to have to face them, and nobody powerful and politically connected is going to come sweep in and save them,” Griffin said, adding that Biden’s pardon “feeds the notion to a lot of this country that there’s simply a different set of rules for those in power.”
She also hit out at President Biden for “lying” when he repeatedly previously claimed he would not pardon his only living son on felony gun and tax convictions in Delaware and California.
But Griffin spared some sympathy for White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who was made to fib about it from the podium for her boss on multiple occasions.
“I felt bad for Karine Jean-Pierre,” she said. “This is why people don’t trust Washington, this is why they don’t trust politicians. I know a lot of us like Joe Biden, but I find it disappointing and bad for our institutions.”
Co-host Sunny Hostin — a former prosecutor — offered up the lukewarm take that the younger Biden wouldn’t have been prosecuted if not for his last name and connection to the president.
The show’s Ana Navarro agreed, lamenting on the “guilt” Biden “has to live with” that Hunter was being prosecuted “because he is his son.”
Then, looking directly into the camera, Navarro said dramatically, “Hunter, your dad has given you a great, great gift: The gift of freedom.”
Griffin resisted her co-hosts’ rosy characterization of the sweeping pardon, referring to President Biden’s oft-repeated assertion that no pardon would be forthcoming as a “lie” that sets a dangerous precedent, prompting Goldberg to again defend the lame-duck commander in chief.
“I think Biden had no intentions of pardoning Hunter,” Goldberg said. “I think the more stuff went down, he said, ‘Why am I busting my behind to stay straight and do this when no one else is doing it?’ “
The liberal hosts of “The View” weren’t the only ones in the left-wing media to have strong reactions to the pardon, with anti-Trump MSNBC contributor Molly Jong-Fast rendered speechless after hearing the news live on the air.
“I just heard it, I have to process it. I don’t have a take, I’m sorry,” she said — with barely restrained glee.
In a statement announcing the pardon, President Biden said he felt his son was being “unfairly prosecuted” in the case.
“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice,” he wrote.
