David Axelrod, the former Obama strategist and self-proclaimed moral compass of the Democratic Party, didn’t hold back in his critique of Joe Biden’s parting gift to his family: preemptive pardons issued just minutes before he left the White House. Axelrod blasted Biden on his “Hacks on Tap” podcast, calling the move “egregious” and urging the former president to “man up.”
“Could you end a presidency as badly as he has?” Axelrod lamented, likening Biden’s hasty pardons to a weak attempt at ducking accountability. According to Axelrod, Biden’s decision to wait until the eleventh hour to announce pardons for multiple family members—including James Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, and others—reeks of political cowardice. “Man up, and if you’re gonna do it, do it,” Axelrod said. “But don’t do it literally as you have one foot out the door so you don’t have to explain it or be accountable for it.”
The timing of the announcement—mere moments before President Trump was sworn in—didn’t just look sleazy, as Axelrod put it. It also muddied the political waters, giving Trump ammunition to highlight the hypocrisy of the Democratic Party. “They gave Trump a gift because it fuzzied up the story,” Axelrod admitted.
Axelrod’s co-host, Mike Murphy, piled on, criticizing Biden’s lack of courage. “It showed a lack of balls,” Murphy said, though he conceded some of the pardons might have been justified due to alleged threats from Trump. Axelrod doubled down, saying Biden should have come clean and explained the reasoning rather than pulling what he called a “tawdry” and “mind-boggling” stunt.
Trump, of course, wasted no time reacting to Biden’s move. “I think it makes you look very guilty,” Trump said. “I guess now I have precedent to do it. I wouldn’t want to do that, no. I think it makes Biden look very bad, very weak, and very guilty.”
The optics couldn’t be worse for Biden. By issuing preemptive pardons for his family members—some of whom were already under scrutiny for allegedly shady dealings—Biden has effectively painted himself into a corner. House Oversight Chair James Comer has called for investigations into James Biden for allegedly making false statements to Congress, and these pardons only fuel speculation of wrongdoing.
This move isn’t just a bad look; it’s emblematic of the swamp-like behavior Americans are tired of. Democrats love to preach about accountability and transparency until it’s their own skeletons rattling in the closet. Axelrod’s criticism is damning, but it’s also too little, too late. For a party that loves to call itself the standard-bearer of ethics, Biden’s sleazy last-minute pardons are a glaring contradiction.
It’s moves like this that reinforce why Trump continues to resonate with so many Americans. Love him or hate him, Trump never hid behind shady political maneuvers or ducked responsibility. Biden, on the other hand, has left office with an aura of guilt and weakness that even his own party’s loyalists can’t ignore.
