When Joe Biden addressed Everytown for Gun Safety’s annual training conference, he could have mentioned that, hours earlier, his son Hunter was convicted of three gun-related felonies. But he didn’t. Instead, he rambled incoherent nonsense about guns and, for the umpteenth time, threatened the American people with superior firepower.

Tell me again who’s the real “threat to democracy”?

“And by the way,” Biden said, “if they wanna think [unintelligible slurring] to take on government if we get out of line, which they’re talkin’ about again about, well guess what — they need F-15s, they don’t need, uh, a rifle.”

He added, “Folks, look, this is crazy what we’re talkin’ about.” Yeah, you could say that.

BIDEN (slurring heavily): “If they wanna think to take on government if we get out of line … guess what? They need F-15s! They don’t need a rifle!” pic.twitter.com/9Lh28W52bU

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 11, 2024

To mock and threaten gun owners and Second Amendment advocates because the government has bigger and more powerful weapons is arguably the worst thing an American president has ever said. Doubly so for a guy who kicked off his unlikely White House win with an Inaugural Address about “unity” and who incessantly portrays his rival, Donald Trump, as a “threat to democracy.” Triply so for a guy who has repeated this threat numerous times before and should have already been advised of its severity and inappropriateness. We’ve covered it previously here, here, and here for starters.

Such threats illustrate the entire reason the Founders crafted the Second Amendment in the first place — to acknowledge the God-given right of the people to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and Liberty itself against tyrants who would seize it.

He crowed about banning so-called “ghost guns” before saying, “Folks, we’re not stopping there. It’s time once again to do what I did when I was a senator: Ban assault weapons.” He then bizarrely added. “Who in God’s name needs a magazine that can hold 200 shells?”

“Assault weapon” is a made-up term to describe semiautomatic rifles with certain cosmetic features. Standard-capacity AR-15 magazines hold 30 rounds, but Biden went straight for the most unusual possibility he’d ever heard of to fearmonger about his desire to restrict “high-capacity” magazines — by which he means anything over 10 rounds. The Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects any firearms in common use, which clearly includes AR-15s, the most commonly owned rifle in America.

Other than that, Biden’s statement was accurate.

He added several other whoppers before offering the most demented thing of all: “No, I’m serious. Think about it. How much have you heard this phrase [begins angry grandpa voice], ‘The blood of Liberty [pause] washes tho— [trails off]’? Give me a break!”

Biden says Americans were prohibited from owning a canon during the Civil War (a statement he’s made before).

Fact-check: STILL false. pic.twitter.com/cGnbdqfnWA

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 11, 2024

The Thomas Jefferson quote he so badly mangled is this: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Even when Biden has mostly gotten it right in the past, he has always left off “and tyrants.” I wonder why.

Now, for Hunter Biden. Fox News sums up the conviction: “Hunter Biden was found guilty of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.” He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.

Again, however, Joe didn’t mention him at all. I thought he might explain why Hunter was never a threat to anyone and wasn’t the kind of person the law was intended to convict. Plus, his crack addiction was just because his brother died in Iraq. (He didn’t.) Though the president promised no pardon, he still might play the victim card to set up a future pardon or commutation, but it’ll have to wait for now.

The White House also canceled a scheduled press briefing, no doubt because Karine Jean-Pierre simply didn’t want to stumble through answers to questions about the trial. Meanwhile, the president made an unscheduled trip to his home in Wilmington, Delaware, the site of the trial.

Instead, Joe Biden put out a statement:

As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad. 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. As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal. Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that.

Hunter expressed gratitude for the “love and support” from his family, but his ex-wife and two former girlfriends (including his former sister-in-law) were key witnesses leading to his conviction.

A few points about the trial and conviction.

Roughly 97% of people convicted of felony firearm possession are sentenced to prison time.

Many media outlets are incorrectly reporting that Hunter Biden lied about his “drug addiction.” He lied about his drug use, and the addiction language tends to excuse his lie.

Special Counsel David Weiss trotted out the same line Democrats have been parroting regarding Trump’s conviction: “No one in this country is above the law.” Hunter’s conviction does seem to convey that, but thanks to Weiss, he nearly avoided trial entirely. First of all, Weiss slow-walked the prosecution for years, hoping to let things — pardon the pun — blow over. He then worked out a sweetheart plea deal that only fell apart thanks to an honest judge.

So spare me the “no one is above the law” nonsense. The rotten David Weiss tried to make sure Hunter was above it.

That plea deal, by the way, included tax fraud charges (three felonies and six misdemeanors) for which Hunter faces trial in California in September. It also included charges regarding Hunter’s time as an illegal foreign agent, which would have been a handy way to dispense with the biggest crime of all — the Biden Crime Family’s influence-peddling operations in Ukraine, China, and elsewhere.

Put all that together and let’s just say I’m skeptical that Joe Biden lets his son spend a single day behind bars.