Democratic and independent voters in southeastern Pennsylvania who say they voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 and could be important to his reelection hopes weighed in on the president and his son, Hunter Biden, after the younger Biden’s accusation last week he was charged with a firearms crime for allegedly lying on a gun purchase form about drug use. Two days earlier, House Republicans had announced they would open a impeachment inquiry in the president over allegations that he profited from his son Hunter Biden’s foreign affairs.
CBS News spoke to about 30 Pennsylvanians, and each of them said they were aware of the legal issues surrounding the president’s son. Many said they were aware of the younger Biden’s struggles with drug addiction. And they tended to see the president’s loyalty to his son as a positive attribute.
“I think it’s a shame [Hunter Biden] he tried to buy a gun and he lied,” Kurt Haltiwanger told CBS News, but added, “I think it’s a credit to President Biden that he stands by his son.”
In a new one CBS News Pollthe majority – 53% of registered voters nationwide – said Republicans in Congress should not try to ispeak to Mr. Biden on issues involving his son, compared to 47% of registered voters who support impeachment. Biden prevailed over Trump in 2020 in Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes, a 1.2% margin.
The investigations mounted by Republicans in the House on Hunter Biden’s conduct have yet to uncover direct evidence of wrongdoing on the president’s part. Mr Biden has denied any involvement in his son’s overseas work and the White House has said the president is not involved in Hunter Biden’s business activities.
Dawn Douglass Marion said she is “on the fence” about voting for Biden again because she is concerned about the president’s economic management and thinks Hunter Biden’s legal troubles are “diminishing” the president’s image.
But Marion also said she was referring to the president’s support for his son. “This is just a parenting thing. I have a child too and I would do the same thing,” she said.
Some Pennsylvania voters have expressed doubts about the House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry.
“[Republicans have] I’ve searched for years and years and found a handful of very minor issues, very rarely prosecuted and certainly nothing to do with his father,” said Dan Schatz, “It’s obvious he’s been very careful to stay out of trouble of his son.”
One concern for voters nationwide, both young and old, appears at this point to be the president’s age, according to a CBS News poll last weekend, which found that only a little more than a third of registered voters think that the octogenarian Biden would be likely to do so finish a second term if he is re-elected, although 55% think Republican front-runner and former President Donald Trump would likely complete a second term.
In Pennsylvania, a voter who supports Biden, Ari Tuckman, thinks he should be more present on the campaign trail. “I think he needs to be in front of the voters to show that he’s not the kind of doddering old man that the Republicans are trying to make him out to be,” Tuckman said.
Another Biden voter said Mr. Biden’s mental fitness is not an issue for her. “Age really has nothing to do with this. Both Biden and Trump are older, so this really has nothing to do with this,” Elizabeth Barone said. “I worry about his health. That would be my only concern, his health.”
The CBS News poll found that at this point, in a head-to-head among likely voters, Trump has a 1-point lead — within the margin of error — over Biden, who beat Trump by seven million votes, three years ago.
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“CBS Evening News” headlines for Monday, September 18, 2023