Democrats Are Experiencing an ‘Identity Crisis’ Because They Were Living a Lie

To judge from the public polling, when it came to Joe Biden’s troubled adult son, very few Americans believed what the president was telling them.

Majorities told pollsters they thought Hunter Biden was guilty of the crimes of which he was charged, thought he had benefited from unduly preferential treatment from Biden’s Justice Department, and even that Joe Biden benefited financially from his son’s indiscretions. Those voters’ verdicts were informed by the extent to which the president eagerly assumed all of Hunter’s political liabilities and even foisted them on his own administration (even going so far as to force Merick Garland to maintain a constant distance from the person his department was prosecuting at a state dinner). When Joe Biden pardoned his son, it seems to have come as a shock to almost no one. Almost.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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To judge from the public polling, when it came to Joe Biden’s troubled adult son, very few Americans believed what the president was telling them.

Majorities told pollsters they thought Hunter Biden was guilty of the crimes of which he was charged, thought he had benefited from unduly preferential treatment from Biden’s Justice Department, and even that Joe Biden benefited financially from his son’s indiscretions. Those voters’ verdicts were informed by the extent to which the president eagerly assumed all of Hunter’s political liabilities and even foisted them on his own administration (even going so far as to force Merick Garland to maintain a constant distance from the person his department was prosecuting at a state dinner). When Joe Biden pardoned his son, it seems to have come as a shock to almost no one. Almost.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.