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Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world

It was shocking enough that Donald Trump appointed one of his daughters’ fathers-in-law as US ambassador to France and another as his envoy to the Middle East. The first, Charles Kushner, father of Ivanka Trump’s husband Jared, is also a convicted felon.

The fear that Trump could turn America into a banana republic is not unreasonable. But Joe Biden has robbed Democrats of the chance to conquer higher ground by becoming the first US president in history to pardon a junior.

The timing of Biden’s blanket immunity for his son Hunter was unfortunate. This allowed Trump to distract from his cronyism. In principle it was also unfortunate. The rule of law in America looks like a game in which the well-connected people always seem to have a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Whoever Trump is targeting with his retaliatory powers, Hunter Biden is now off that list. But history will not ignore Joe Biden’s role in enabling Trump’s return to power. The fact that Biden’s help was unwitting is no excuse. Biden was president for four years and failed to hold Trump accountable for attempting to overthrow U.S. democracy.

Other countries, particularly Brazil, which once might well have been called a banana republic, are able to enforce their laws. Former Trump President Jair Bolsonaro has been banned from running for high office until 2030 for trying to overturn his 2022 election defeat. The best thing Biden could do was bring to life the saying that when you come to the king, you best not miss it. He missed Trump by a long shot.

But it’s even worse. Biden held on to his dreams of a second term long enough to ruin his party’s fortunes. Kamala Harris takes the lion’s share of the blame for her loss to Trump last month. But the greater responsibility lies with Biden. By refusing to resign until the end of July, he deprived the Democratic Party of the chance to hold a primary.

Harris had barely 100 days to put together a coherent alternative to America’s most diverse figure in decades. The fact that she got within a point or two of Trump is an achievement. The fact that she probably shouldn’t have been nominated is Biden’s fault. Not only did he stubbornly remain in office until far too late, his support also ensured that Harris had no competition.

There is no doubt that Biden’s family history is tragic. In any context, a father’s unconditional love for a deeply flawed son is moving. Hunter Biden was targeted by Republicans to get to his father. Most Americans who lied on their gun registration forms about using addictive substances would be slapped on the wrist. Hunter faced prison until his father pardoned him.

But the 10-year scope of Biden’s pardon (dating back to 2014) is intended to cover the period when Hunter tried to monetize the fact that his father was vice president. Hunter Biden had nothing but his last name to recommend him to business partners in Ukraine, China and elsewhere. His selling point was access to power. There is no evidence that Biden did anything to help his son’s business. But there is also no evidence that he even tried to prevent such an unwise undertaking.

It’s no coincidence that Biden’s pardon followed Trump’s announcement that he was naming Kash Patel — a ruthless Trump loyalist with no other credentials — as his next FBI director. Patel has repeatedly vowed to send Trump’s opponents to prison. As America’s chief police officer with enormous investigative powers, he will be Trump’s sword of revenge. Memories of the ruin that J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI inflicted on so many careers during the McCarthy era and beyond are suddenly relevant.

Hunter Biden’s name appears on this enemies list. But so do dozens of others. Biden could also pardon colleagues and allies for crimes that exist in the imaginations of Patel and Trump. Maybe this is his last act. But he has already tainted the process. He has spent years telling Americans that no man is above the law. The daylight between Biden and Trump is now obscured by fog.

Trump’s uncanny ability as a politician is to prey on people’s cynicism. Instead of upholding American ideals, he appeals to those who see them as a hypocritical delusion. For this endeavor, Trump owes his opponents gratitude, not persecution.

Although it is overused, it is hard to forget WB Yeats’ statement that “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” These words hit both Biden and Trump. The rule of law in America is facing the mother of all stress tests. If that fails, Biden will have played a role in weakening the guardrails.

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