Nate Silver, a celebrated statistician and writer who founded FiveThirtyEight, went on a social media tirade against President Joe Biden after Biden pardoned his son Hunter despite years of insisting he would not do so.
Silver attacked Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Democratic Party itself in a series of tweets stemming from Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden Sunday evening.
“I discussed here how I voted for Harris despite feeling like Democrats indulged in a lot of bad behavior that voters were rational to publish,” he tweeted. “After the White House lying about the Hunter pardon I’m not sure how much more I can tolerate.”
I discussed here how I voted for Harris despite feeling like Democrats indulged in a lot of bad behavior that voters were rational to publish. After the White House lying about the Hunter pardon I'm not sure how much more I can tolerate.https://t.co/fk1UVrrrp3
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) December 2, 2024
“Don’t vote for any Democrat in 2028 who doesn’t repudiate the pardon within 48 hours,” he added in a follow-up tweet.
Silver, calling Biden “a selfish and senile old man,” blamed Biden for Trump’s victory. He tweeted that “[t]he White House consistently lied about this [pardon]. Biden’s stubborn insistence on running for reelection was perhaps the singular most important factor in Trump 2.0, and now he’s kicking salt in the wound of the party brand he helped to destroy.”
He then turned to Trump’s appeal, crediting Joe Biden’s hypocrisy and selfishness for creating an atmosphere for Trump to succeed.
“Why do you think Trump(ism) gains a following? Well, actually, that’s complicated,” he tweeted. “But part of it is because elites of all political stripes are absolutely out for themselves and complete moral hypocrites. And Democrats stake a claim to moral superiority when Trump does not.”
Why do you think Trump(ism) gains a following? Well, actually, that's complicated. But part of it is because elites of all political stripes are absolutely out for themselves and complete moral hypocrites. And Democrats stake a claim to moral superiority when Trump does not.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) December 2, 2024
Silver did not stop there, touting his foresight in calling for Biden to step aside earlier this year.
“Exactly the same people who were mad about my takes that Biden needed to step aside are mad about my pointing out his obvious hypocrisy,” he tweeted. “I guess if you forgive him for quite possibly throwing an election to Trump you’ll forgive him for anything.”
Despite voting for Harris, Silver turned his guns on the Democratic Party.
“Voters were smart enough to see through this shit,” he added. “I voted for Harris. But that’s why I believe in democracy more than I believe in the Democratic Party. You’re not fooling anyone but yourselves.”
He continued, “Harris could also have distanced herself from Biden, although obviously a candidate who wasn’t his VP would have had an easier time doing so. She refused to for reasons that are … not entirely clear or coherent? But if you can’t grok the lesson here I don’t know what to say.”
Silver closed, “But please stop thinking of yourself as a defender of ‘democracy’ or norms or the rule of law if you’re defending this. You’re just a garden-variety partisan dressing yourself up in sheep’s clothing. And voters are smart enough to see this even if you aren’t.”
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
