Mother Jones illustration; Kevin Dietsch/Getty; Roy Rochlin/Getty; Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty
In the moments following Hunter Biden’s conviction on federal gun charges on Tuesday, Fox News celebrated the justice system doing its job.
They sang the praises of the judge and jury. They delighted in the fact that Biden would face consequences. And they doubted President Joe Biden’s repeated pledges that he will not pardon his son. In short: They reacted very differently from how they did when Donald Trump was found guilty in his hush-money trial.
This isn’t surprising given Fox News’ longtime loyalty to Trump. But the effusive praise was a brazen contrast to how Fox—and some on the far-right—reacted to Trump’s conviction last month. Here’s a sample of their newfound embrace of the “rule of law” and consequences:
- “I applaud the judge, she did an outstanding job in following the rule of law,” Fox News Contributor Leo Terrell said on-air today.
- “You did it. You’re guilty. You’re going to jail. So welcome to the real world, Hunter Biden,” said host Emily Compagno.
- “Why was Hunter so confident he could win in this courtroom? Because he’s a Biden,” Host Jeanine Pirro added. “This is the first time that Hunter Biden has faced responsibility and consequences for his actions.”
Fox's first reactions to the Hunter Biden guilty verdict: "Applause for the judge, "rule of law," and appeal talk pic.twitter.com/O8yZZ0vkVY
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 11, 2024
Again, this is very different from what Pirro and her colleagues had to say after Trump’s conviction:
- “We’ve been calling it lawfare, I think lawfare is far too soft, it’s far too benign. This is warfare!” Pirro proclaimed last week, adding that the verdict was the product of a “kangaroo court.”
- “We have gone over a cliff in America. This verdict is a verdict of someone who was forced to fight a 1,000-pound gorilla with both hands tied behind his back,” Pirro added.
- “It’s a sad day for our justice system—the best justice system ever created by man,” Sean Hannity said after Trump’s conviction.
Fox's Jeanine Pirro: "We've been calling it lawfare, I think lawfare is far too soft, it's far too benign. This is warfare." pic.twitter.com/bsIELCpgvI
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) May 30, 2024
Yet not everyone on the right was jubilant following Hunter Biden’s conviction. Elsewhere, conspiracy theories flowed on how this was a politically orchestrated conviction designed to justify Trump’s.
Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to Trump, posted to X: “DOJ is running election interference for Joe Biden— that’s why DOJ did NOT charge Hunter with being an unregistered foreign agent (FARA) or any crime connected with foreign corruption. Why? Because all the evidence would lead back to JOE.”
Right-wing activist and Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk seemed unimpressed with Biden’s conviction, advising followers not to “fall for” an apparent trick by the Justice Department to convince them that the system is fair. “The true crimes of the Biden Crime Family remain untouched. This is a fake trial trying to make the Justice system appear “balanced,”” Kirk wrote on X.
So, in essence, the right seems to be responding just as irrationally as you’d expect.
