America prides itself on its ideals and moral consistency, but in politics, double standards have become the norm. In recent years, most political news has been relegated to simple cannon fodder—an opportunity to pounce on the other side of the aisle. Yet, when the same situation is applied to those who are pouncing, we very quickly see the formation of a new double standard that is blindly accepted by entire political parties.
The majority of double standards that are covered in mainstream media are often perpetrated by politicians for the sake of expediency and self-interest. These are the stories that wash by in 72-hour news cycles and capture the interest of politically engaged people all over the United States. Respective members of each party will take the side that they are expected to take based on partisan loyalty, while the “normal” independent voter will often disengage.
In recent years, the most typical examples of these news stories are stories involving the prosecution of major political figures. Whether it’s Donald Trump, Hunter Biden, or other major political figures, the legal opinions of millions of Americans are informed by the party they are registered with. Take the criminal trials of Donald Trump, for example. Both Republicans and Democrats have demonstrated clear double standards when it comes to this issue. The support for the criminal charges presented by special prosecutor Jack Smith is divided between party lines, with 85% of Democrats approving of the charges, and only 16% of Republicans supporting the charges.[1] Democrats insist that the charges brought by the special prosecutor towards Donald Trump are valid and should be prosecuted because the American system of justice applies the law equally, regardless of political affiliation. President Biden himself said “This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each — each of us is equal before the law. No one — no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States. One would assume that the president would still hold this conviction under all circumstances, regardless of who’s being prosecuted or under the ire of the law. Less than 6 months after issuing the statement above, President Biden then said “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted… raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. Over the course of six months, Biden went from saying that the criminal justice system ensures that no one is above the law to claiming that the criminal justice system is “inflected” with politics and that his son was being “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” These were almost the exact words that President Trump used to describe his own prosecutions, claiming that his trials were “unfair” and “rigged.” This double standard was then supported by much of the mainstream media, with mainstream figures like Katie Phang from MSNBC saying “Hunter Biden’s TWO criminal cases were political prosecutions in order to attack President Joe Biden. The DOJ pursued unprecedented charges after a high-pressure campaign by Trump and his surrogates.” Don Lemon (former CNN host) said “Don’t be so holier than thou. This is not really about politics. This is about being a parent” and some like MSNBC host Joy Reid even went so far as to claim that Biden should have more members of his administration, not just his son.
Biden’s pardon of his son can be chalked up to a sense of personal obligation. He pardoned Hunter Biden for one reason and one reason only: Hunter Biden is the son of Joe Biden. He even indicated this in his official statement defending this pardon when Biden said “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.” As Biden implied, his relationship to Hunter Biden is what resulted in the intertwining of his roles as both President and father. Mainstream media and other members of the Democratic Party defending him can be explained by partisan loyalty and a shared interest in protecting the image of the administration. This double standard was applied for the sake of political convenience––Biden pardoned his son because he wanted to be a good father, and Democrats immediately backed him up for the preservation of their political narrative and unity.
Another double standard related to the prosecution of major political figures was the differing views Republicans had regarding Don Jr. and Hunter Biden. Don Jr. was accused of several violations of the law, the most notable being colluding with Russian attourney Natalia Veselnitskaya, who has represented the Russian government. In this meeting, Don Jr. met with Donald Trump’s campaign manager and the Russian attorney, with emails prior to the meeting indicating Ms.Veselinski would provide “very high level and sensitive information” that was a direct result of “Russia and it’s government support for Mr. Trump. Republicans were highly critical of the alleged charges against Don Jr, with President Trump calling the situation, “the greatest Witch Hunt in political history” and Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn saying that Don Jr. was “duped” into attending the meeting with Ms. Veselnitskaya. Despite legal experts and commentators criticizing the actions of Donald Trump Jr., President Trump and other Republicans decided to dismiss the allegations as politically motivated and undeserving of legal scrutiny. Once again, it’s fair to assume that this level of charity and grace would then be extended to all political figures who are accused of similar transgressions. Surely, when Hunter Biden was accused of trading influence using his last name or committing a variety of petty crimes like tax evasion and lying on a gun form, Republicans would rush to his defense. When Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to firearm and tax related criminal charges, Senator Blackburn said “Hunter Biden is pleading guilty to a sweetheart deal with no jail time” and President Trump said that attorney David Weiss who worked on Biden’s plea agreement “gave out a traffic ticket instead of a death sentence.
Similar to how Biden’s personal commitment to his son, and the Democratic party’s commitment to President Bien, would create a create double standard regarding the fairness of the justice system, Trump’s commitment to Don Jr. resulted in him downplaying his alleged transgressions, while partisan loyalty and political opportunism resulted in him attacking Hunter Biden over criminal charges much less severe than what Don Jr was accused of. The reality is that the desire for political convenience almost always triumphs over ideological contistency, which is why both parties selectively apply principles of justice based on their interests rather than impartial standards.
Source Links:
- https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-poll-georgia-elections-b6140eed88b3153e41dbf9e008d5a21b
- https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-poll-georgia-elections-b6140eed88b3153e41dbf9e008d5a21b
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/01/statement-from-president-joe-biden-11/
- https://www.foxnews.com/media/liberal-media-voices-defend-biden-hunter-pardon-mock-conservative-outrage
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40585149
- https://www.vox.com/world/2017/7/10/15950590/donald-trump-jr-new-york-times-illegal
- https://time.com/4853005/donald-trump-jr-emails-hillary-clinton-russia/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2023/6/news/blackburn-statement-on-hunter-biden-charges?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-donald-trump-say-he-wanted-hunter-biden-executed-1995672?utm_source=chatgpt.com