Jill Biden, on “The Today Show,” defended her husband, then-President Joe Biden, pardoning their son Hunter Biden. Biden told host Craig Melvin that while the president was initially opposed to pardoning his son, Biden “lost faith in the system” after Trump was elected and thought it was necessary to pardon “He said all along he was not going to pardon Hunter, but then the administration changed,” Biden said. “You know, the process was not fair to Hunter. And I could — Joe could not see our son — you know, then the current president won, and the Justice Department changed. It became political.” “Joe would never have interfered in the Justice Department and told the Justice Department what to do or how to handle it,” Biden said. “So we were never — I mean, at the end, when we saw that Trump, if someone tells you who they are, believe it, Trump said, I want Hunter Biden to go to jail. We could not let our son go to jail on it, on that charge for a gun that he bought and he had for 11 days. We could not let him.”

JILL BIDEN: You know, Democrats have a great future. I think, you know, we’re looking forward to winning the midterms. I and I think things are going to move forward in a more positive way. And yes, we look back and we’re going to learn from the mistakes we made. CRAIG MELVIN, ‘TODAY SHOW’ HOST: You’re right. The book isn’t just about politics. It’s not just about that moment. You write about Hunter. You write about Hunter, you write about the decision to pardon him as well. You acknowledge that the former president’s senior advisers said not a good idea, but ultimately you and the former president decided that for your family, it would be a good idea. BIDEN: The pardon you mean? MELVIN: The pardon. Pardoning. BIDEN: Well, not you and your family decided the party — to pardon him. Joe. MELVIN: But you consulted. You said you supported it. BIDEN: I did support it, of course. I’m his mother. MELVIN: And have you made peace with the idea, perhaps, that a decision that could have been good for the Biden family may not have been necessarily good for the office of the president or president moving forward? BIDEN: Joe wasn’t thinking about himself. You know, he said all along he was not going to pardon Hunter, but then the administration changed. You know, the process was not fair to Hunter. And I could — Joe could not see our son — you know, then the current president won and the Justice Department changed. It became political. You know, Craig, you and I both know we grew up with, you know, the three separate branches of government, hands off. Joe would never have interfered in in the Justice Department and told the Justice Department what to do or how to handle it. So we were never — I mean, at the end, when we saw that Trump, if someone tells you who they are, believe it, Trump said, I want Hunter Biden to go to jail. We could not let our son go to jail on it, on that charge for a gun that he bought and he had for 11 days. We could not let him. MELVIN: The president basically — BIDEN: Changed his mind. MELVIN: Changed his mind — BIDEN: Yes. MELVIN: Because he lost faith in the system. BIDEN: Yes, I guess it is. Yeah.

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