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No person with a loved one who has suffered through addiction could feel anything but empathy for Hunter Biden and his family. There are a lot of Hunter Bidens in this world, people who fell in way over their heads, who long for someone to believe they can recover and construct their lives differently, Patti Davis, a recovered addict and the daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, wrote last week in the New York Times. You just dont hear about them on the evening news.

The tragedy, pain and trauma of drug addiction is not lost on millions of Americans. And as Davis noted, Some observers argue that if Hunter Biden were not the presidents son, he wouldnt be on trial for buying a gun while being addicted to drugs, since he had the gun for only 11 days and it wasnt used in any crime.

That a prosecutor appointed by felon and former president Donald Trump should bring a case of the type so rarely charged only heightened the queasy feeling that Hunter Biden was forced to bear the burden of being a presidents son. As former president Donald Trump complains that he is a victim of selective prosecution for his brazen attempts to defy a federal subpoena, Hunter Biden may actually be experiencing it, David Graham wrote for the Atlantic. Even a juror said the prosecution was a waste of tax dollars.

The reaction of many MAGA types and their captive right-wing media seemingly disappointed that the allegedly rigged judicial system apparently wasnt so rigged after all was one sign of the moral chasm and twisted logic that has come to define MAGA-era politics.

On every score, the Biden family throughout the public ordeal exemplified dignity, decency and the sort of unconditional love that many endlessly needy narcissists and other damaged adults were denied as children. (One is reminded of Henry Kissingers dig at Richard M. Nixon: Can you imagine what this man would have been like if somebody had loved him?)

First lady Jill Biden regularly attended her sons trial; President Biden never impugned the judicial system. Biden promised not to pardon his son or commute his sentence, and embraced him after the trial. In a written statement, the president said: Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery. He added, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.

Trump, convicted of falsifying documents to cover up hush money paid to an adult-film actress in an effort to block the story from appearing before the 2016 election, alternately fumed and slept his way through his trial. His wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner never showed up to demonstrate support. Only his son Eric was in the courtroom when the verdict was read.

During and after Trumps trial, he and his MAGA minions attacked the judicial system, smeared the judge and jury, and then refused to accept the legitimacy of the verdict. Trumps bizarre call to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) demanding that we have to overturn this epitomized not just his constitutional ignorance but the MAGA movements determination to burn down a judicial system that could not be corrupted to do his bidding.

At its worst, cynical political coverage and punditry about the two criminal trials often regurgitated MAGA spin that Trumps conviction could help him. Hunter Bidens case was frequently portrayed as a potential election-year problem or trouble for the president. (While some polls show Biden has improved by a couple of points, Trump has not benefited from either trial.) The New York Times even appeared to question President Bidens judgment for inviting Hunter to the White House.

The Biden family in these past few weeks have demonstrated qualities such as respect, empathy and decency that have long defined public virtue. (Even the term seems quaint these days.) For a time, Republicans insisted that presidents needed to embody those characteristics. No more. Now the MAGA Republicans and their warped cult leader celebrate cruelty, vindictiveness and lust for power.

This gaping moral divide has been nowhere more evident than in the candidates (and their followers) conduct and rhetoric during these two trials. Now the question has been sharpened: Which candidate should we emulate and what sort of country do we want to live in?

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Opinion | The Hunter Biden and Trump trials were a litmus test. Only the Bidens passed. - The Washington Post