America and Its Moment of Grief

Most experts seem to believe that both scandals — Trump’s and Biden’s — will cancel each other out as campaign issues

The United States is going through a peculiar moment. The Republican presidential candidate awaits sentencing on 34 felony counts of fraudulently falsifying records, while a jury has convicted the Democratic hopeful’s son on felony charges related to possession of firearms.

How Does That Impact the US Presidential Race?

No one is sure. In fact, most experts seem to think that both scandals will cancel each other out as campaign issues, and that those willing to vote for Donald Trump will do so no matter what; likewise, those determined to vote for Joe Biden will do so as well.

However, there are some small differences. Trump is a candidate and is responsible for some of the misdeeds attributed to him. Republicans have tried to link Biden to the criminal actions of his son, Hunter, to no avail despite legal and legislative investigations.

Trump is embroiled in three other pending cases: a federal indictment on charges related to mishandling classified documents improperly stored at his Mar-a-Lago vacation home, and another federal indictment on charges related to his involvement in the events leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on and violent occupation of the Capitol as Congress attempted to certify the results of the November 2020 presidential election. And finally, he faces state charges in Georgia for allegedly trying to influence local officials to change the results of the presidential election there.

A jury convicted Hunter Biden for lying on an application to buy a gun while he was subject to restrictions based on drug use. Republicans have also tried to prove that Hunter Biden used his father’s position to make a profit at a Ukrainian electric company.

But while the person being questioned in one case is the candidate himself, in the other it is the son of the opposition candidate.

To complicate matters further, candidate Trump has sought to dismiss the pending indictments and has denounced them by saying the Biden administration is using the Justice Department to persecute him, the same Justice Department that prosecuted and won the conviction of Hunter Biden.

If the two cases are similar at all, they are similar from a political point of view. But ultimately Americans will vote not on Biden’s “terrible son,” but on his father’s work; Americans will vote not for Trump’s children, but for the job their father does.

Certainly, Republicans hope that Hunter Biden’s conviction will limit the damage done by conviction of the American real estate tycoon.

In any case, it is the first time that a presidential candidate has campaigned under the shadow of a criminal conviction for fraud in disguising payments to hide a personal indiscretion. It is also the first time the son of a sitting president has been convicted for his actions.