As jury selection began Monday in Hunter Biden’s gun possession trial, President Joe Biden issued a statement illustrating the delicate balance he is trying to maintain during his re-election campaign.
“I am the president, but I am also a dad,” Joe Biden stated.
He expressed support for his son, who faces up to 25 years in prison for allegedly lying about his drug addiction on background documents for a 2018 handgun purchase.
“As president, I don’t and won’t comment on pending federal cases,” he continued. “But as a dad, I have boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength.”
Hunter Biden’s well-known struggles with drug addiction, which he has discussed publicly and detailed in his memoir, will now become key evidence in his trial and a focal point for public scrutiny.
Joe Biden has previously addressed his son’s personal challenges. During the first presidential debate with Donald Trump in 2020, he stated he was “proud” of his only surviving son.
“My son, like a lot of people you know at home, had a drug problem,” he said. “He’s overcome it. He’s fixed it. He’s worked on it.”
Four years ago, Biden was responding to Trump’s attacks. Now, his statement seems aimed at defusing a politically charged situation, where his son’s past—and by extension, the Biden family’s—will be intensely scrutinized.
The Struggles and Scandals of Hunter Biden
Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, is expected to testify about his drug addiction. Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter’s brother Beau, with whom Hunter was romantically involved and who discarded the handgun in question in a Delaware trash can, is also listed as a prosecution witness.
“It’s definitely not a good look,” says Kate Andersen Brower, an author on US presidents, their families, and first ladies. She notes that presidents have faced family turmoil before, citing sibling scandals during the Clinton and Carter administrations. However, a president’s child facing a criminal trial is unprecedented, leaving the elder Biden in a difficult position.
President Biden spent time with his son in Delaware over the weekend and stayed in Wilmington, where the trial is taking place, on Sunday night. Despite his presence during jury selection on Monday, the president had returned to Washington by then. While expressing support for his son, he is also maintaining a distance from the legal proceedings.