22 percent approve of Biden pardon of son Hunter: Survey

Less than a quarter of adults approve of President Biden's pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, while roughly half disapprove, a new poll has revealed.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 51 percent of adults somewhat or strongly disapprove of the pardon, compared to 22 percent who said the opposite. Eighteen percent neither approved nor disapproved, while 8 percent didn't know enough to answer, the poll showed.

The polling comes roughly two weeks after the president announced his decision to pardon Hunter Biden, who was found guilty in June in a federal case on three felony charges for concealing drug use during his purchase of a gun in 2018 and illegally possessing it afterward. He avoided trial in a separate case by pleading guilty in September to nine federal tax charges.

President Biden has faced scrutiny for his decision as several Democrats on Capitol Hill have condemned the move as counterproductive to their party’s efforts toward rebuilding public trust in American institutions derided by President-elect Trump.

The survey revealed that Democrats were more likely to approve of President Biden's decision, with 38 percent saying so, than independents, at 12 percent approval, and Republicans, at 7 percent.

The vast majority of Republicans, 80 percent, disapproved of the pardon, compared to 27 percent of Democrats, the survey found. Fifty-one percent of independents disapproved.

The survey also revealed that most adults, 60 percent, strongly or somewhat disapprove of how Biden is handling his job as president. Thirty-nine percent approved, according to the poll.

The vast majority of Democrats, 72 percent, approved of Biden's job performance, compared to 23 percent of independents and 8 percent of Republicans, the survey found.

Roughly nine in 10 Republicans disapproved of how Biden does his job as president, the poll revealed. A significant majority of independents also expressed their disapproval, at 71 percent. Twenty-seven percent of Democrats disapproved, the survey found.

The poll additionally showed that people aged 18 to 44 were more likely than older adults to disapprove of how Biden handles his job as president, at 66 percent. Fifty-four percent of people aged 45 and older disapproved, the survey found.

People aged 45 and older were also more likely to approve of Biden's job performance as president than those aged 18 to 44, at 45 percent to 32 percent, the poll showed.

The nationwide poll was conducted from Dec. 5 to 9 and surveyed 1,251 adults. The margin of error was 3.7 percentage points.