Mixing family and politics shakes public trust in US presidency

Pardon for Biden's son, posts for Trump's in-laws raise eyebrows, if not hackles

- Bhagyashree Garekar

WASHINGTON - Where's the place for the father or father-in-law at the White House table? As US President Joe Biden makes way for Donald Trump's second term, the ongoing transition has been smooth, but not free of the soap opera-like twists of a family drama.

In a whirlwind of a weekend, Trump doled out two plum posts in his incoming administration to members of his extended family. And Mr Biden pardoned his son, who faced as many as 25 years in prison over various offences.

While the American presidency does carry broad pardon powers, the move to shield a family member is controversial because it is not an act of mercy as a pardon is conceived to be.

And in Trump's defence, the orchestrated elevation of a parade of family members, friends and supporters in less than a month after his election is very much a feature of the American "spoils" system.

It's only fair to reward supporters who chipped in time and money, some hold. And, to a degree, it also helps the president spearhead his policies.

Trump's appointments have, thus, raised eyebrows - not hackles - among Americans fatigued by the country's intense political cycle. An election is never more than a year away in this vast nation.

Additionally, this is a country where there is lingering suspicion that news is filtered by a gigantic, partisan media.

Still, public trust in the presidency suffers when the appointees glide into high-profile posts without relevant expertise or experience. Or when a pardon is motivated by self-interest.

Mr Biden had pledged he would restore respect for the rule of law after the tumultuous Trump years. And he stated unprompted on numerous occasions that he would not pardon his son.

When he went back on his word seven weeks before leaving office, it rattled many.

Hunter Biden, 54, is the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime.