President Biden arrived in Angola on Monday for the only visit to sub-Saharan Africa of his presidency and perhaps his last overseas trip before he leaves officeroyal win slot, but the journey was shadowed by his decision to pardon his son of tax and gun convictions.
After a refueling stop in Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa, Air Force One landed in Luanda, the Angolan capital, around sunset and Mr. Biden proceeded to an event greeting U.S. Embassy staff members before he retired for the night. He will pick up the trip on Tuesday with a stop at a slavery museum and then travel south on Wednesday to highlight a new $1 billion rail corridor.
Mr. Biden had long promised to visit sub-Saharan Africa, but the trip was delayed until the final weeks of his presidency. He is the first American president to travel to the region since 2015.
He had hoped to draw attention to his commitment to Africa at a time when the United States is in competition on the continent with China. But that message was quickly overwhelmed by his announcement hours before taking off from Washington that he was issuing a “full and unconditional” pardon to Hunter Biden, his 54-year-old son.
Hunter Biden was convicted this year of lying on a firearms application form and later pleaded guilty to failure to pay taxes. The president’s decision to pardon his son came despite repeated promises not to do so, and it drew criticism from Republicans and some Democrats for using his power to overturn the judicial process.
Mr. Biden did not speak with reporters traveling with him, leaving it to his White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, to deflect questions from reporters on the plane about whether he lied when he said he would not pardon his son.
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