Jimmy Kimmel has defended President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden joking that there’s a “very good chance” the president “doesn’t remember” previously saying he wouldn’t.
Alarm bells sounded on both sides of the political aisle on Sunday when Biden granted his son clemency for federal crimes committed between January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024 – claiming the 54-year-old was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” by the Department of Justice.
Biden had previously ruled out pardoning his son and so the sudden change of heart prompted backlash from Republicans as well as some Democrats.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live host weighed in on the saga on Monday night’s show, conceding that the president did indeed vow not to pardon Hunter.
But Kimmel joked that Biden, who culled his re-election campaign in July amid speculation around his mental acuity, may not “remember saying that.”
“Yes, Joe Biden did say he wasn’t going to pardon Hunter, but to be fair there’s a very good chance he doesn’t remember saying that,” Kimmel quipped.
Kimmel noted that Biden’s unprecedented pardoning of his own child – with Hunter making history as the first son of an incumbent president to be criminally convicted – may be due to the 82-year-old entering his “grandpa doesn’t give a damn” phase.
“No one has more to be thankful for this weekend than Hunter Biden,” Kimmel teased about the Thanksgiving holiday.
“I am not a presidential historian, but I believe this is the first time a US president has pardoned both his son and a turkey in the same week.”
He continued: “Biden released a statement saying that the charges in Hunter’s case were politically motivated and his son was selectively and unfairly prosecuted.
“In other words, the Biden presidency has now entered the ‘grandpa doesn’t give a damn about you’ stage.”
Presidents have the power to grant clemency, including both pardons (forgiving federal criminal offenses) and commutations (reducing penalties) for federal convictions. They cannot, however, pardon those convicted of state crimes.
In June, Hunter was convicted of three federal gun charges related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018. Three months later, he pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges in September.
He was facing sentencing in both cases later this month. Now, Hunter will no longer be sentenced and will avoid jail time.
Trump responded with fury on Sunday to Biden’s pardon and suggested pardoning his supporters charged for their involvement in the January 6 Capitol riots.
“Of course, Trump moved on this news like a b****,” Kimmel said on Monday, adding that Hunter’s pardoning doesn’t of course translate to the release of the Capitol rioters.
“But it would be pretty funny if it did. ‘I hereby pardon my son Hunter and, what the hell, the QAnon shaman too.’”
Kimmel noted that Trump also pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared, during his first term – before naming him the US ambassador to France in his second.
He added: “Everyone who voted to let a 34-time convicted felon off the hook is very mad about Joe Biden letting his son off the hook. And by the way, I don’t necessarily disagree – the guy committed crimes.
“But let’s take a stroll through reality here: not only did Trump pardon his son-in-law Jared’s dad, who went to prison for hiring a hooker to frame his own brother-in-law, this weekend, he named that same man US ambassador to France.”
