Two Small Men Taint Inauguration Day With Disgraceful Pardons

Will Oliver/AP Images

Monday was a day of majesty — or at least it had the trappings of one.

Inauguration Day is full of moments that cause us to swell up with patriotic pride and, if only for a moment, forget who is leaving and who is moving into the Oval Office. There’s the traditional morning tea shared by predecessor and successor, the motorcade over to the Capitol, the introduction of former presidents and first ladies prior to the swearing-in, and, of course, the band striking up tunes like “Hail to the Chief” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

But they were only fleeting moments on Monday thanks to its two starring characters, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

CNN reported on Sunday that Trump intended to hand out pardons to January 6 rioters shortly after being sworn in the following day. Such a measure should hardly come as a surprise; he’s been promising to free “the hostages” for years now.

The difference between a private citizen taking up the case of rioters who invaded the Capitol Building in an attempt to steal an election on Truth Social and a president with four years left in his term doing so from inside of the Capitol, though, is the difference between missing a free throw in the first half of an AAU game and missing one to tie Game 7 of the NBA Finals in its waning seconds.

It is unsettling, wrong, and most importantly, a reminder that Trump is manifestly unfit for the office he’s assuming.

But then again, so was Biden.

An egomaniac nearly on the order of Trump, the 46th president of the United States closed out his term as he lived it — ignominiously. Minutes before his watch was ended, the White House released a statement from Biden announcing that he was pardoning his siblings and their spouses.

“My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me—the worst kind of partisan politics,” wrote Biden. “Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances.”

All this just a few weeks after he reneged on his promise not to pardon his son Hunter Biden, who had already been found guilty of several felonies.

Four years ago to the day, Biden took his own oath of office, having rode into the White House in no small part on the strength of his pledges to uphold the norms that have held the country together for the better part of two and a half centuries.

He leaves having further eroded them further by making noises about wanting to see Trump prosecuted, participating in a cover-up of his eroding physical and mental capabilities, and issuing blanket pardons of his own flesh and blood.

So while Monday’s events were still a testament to the unique greatness of the American system, they were also a stunning indictment of those entrusted with keeping it.

“Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander, This you will do, that is our strong, firm belief,” read the rarely sung lyrics to “Hail to the Chief.”

Could such a thing be honestly said about either of the two exceedingly small men for which it last played?

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.