I hate to break it to Hunter Biden, and to the elder Bidens, but most Americans – including Democrats – are ready for the family to step aside. They don't seem to be getting the hint.Show Caption
In May, Hunter Biden, 56, popped up on X with this post: “I’m Hunter Biden. You’ve never actually heard from me.”That’s not true. We’ve heard plenty from the former president’s son – a 2021 memoir, as well as a 2023 opinion column for USA TODAY. So what's behind this sudden reintroduction?He claims that his publicity tour, which has included bottom-feeder podcasters (more on that shortly) and other media appearances, is about helping others battling addiction, which plagued him for years. Biden cycled through numerous stints in rehab trying to get clean from crack cocaine and alcohol. He says he's been sober seven years.But underneath the addiction talk, something else is percolating.Political ambition.Is Biden angling to follow in his father's footsteps?Hunter says he's not seeking power. He is. A recent Wired profile describes it as " 'will-he-or-won't-he' energy." Despite playing coy, Biden's been dropping plenty of hints.Take June, when he appeared on California Gov. Gavin Newsom's podcast. After Newsom introduced him as a 2028 presidential candidate, Biden answered with one of his dad's favorite phrases:“Here’s the deal. I’ll run, but only as your VP, because the truth of the matter is the vice president’s residence is a lot cooler. It’s a lot easier job, too.”Of course, the media “fact-checkers” jumped in to assure the country that this was all a hilarious joke.Maybe.Earlier in June, President Donald Trump was asked at a news conference about the prospect of Hunter Biden running in 2028."You would think that the past has something to do with winning an election," Trump said. "And I would say his past is not the greatest."Fair enough – though Trump and the younger Biden share a past of felony convictions. (Or did, anyway, until Daddy fully pardoned his son just before sentencing in late 2024, after promising he wouldn't.)Hunter Biden didn't appreciate the quip. Asked on X whether he'd consider running for president, he replied, "I am now."I'm inclined to believe him.I do question his judgment, though, as he launches this "new" Hunter 2.0. For someone with so much experience in rehab, his choices around rehabilitating his image are suspect.He seems to operate on the theory that there's no such thing as bad publicity. His first major interview, in May, was with podcaster and conspiracy theorist extraordinaire Candace Owens – once one of his harshest critics. Whatever bad blood existed appears forgotten; the two were chummy for nearly two hours, giggling over his fondness for the f-word and bonding over their shared Catholicism.This month, it got stranger. Biden recorded a newly released interview with Channel 5’s Andrew Callaghan, whom he’s started palling around with, and Nick Fuentes, the podcaster and open Nazi sympathizer.Imagine the outrage if one of Trump's sons sat down for a casual chat with Fuentes.Most Americans just want the Bidens to go away. I hate to break it to Biden, and to the elder Bidens, but most Americans – including Democrats – are ready for the Biden family to step aside. They don't seem to be getting the hint, though.Earlier this year, former first lady Jill Biden released a memoir that dredged up her husband's health, including his disastrous June 2024 debate against Trump, effectively ending his campaign – matters much of the Democratic Party would rather forget.Joe Biden has a book of his own, now scheduled for release just after the midterm elections in November – a delay from what he'd said, in an awkward exchange at an event for his wife's book, would be a September release. No surprises there.Adding Hunter to the mix isn't helping. Maybe some people find his bad-boy-in-denim persona appealing, but I doubt it's very many.The fact is, beyond the addiction, Biden was convicted in 2024 of federal gun felonies and federal tax evasion charges. Oh, and the infamous laptop that Joe Biden tried to pass off as “Russian disinformation” was very real and revealed Hunter Biden’s shady foreign business dealings that looked a lot like influence peddling. Perhaps his dad's pardon has given him a false sense of his own marketability.Here's my advice, if Hunter cares to take it: Stick to painting.Your fellow Democrats will thank you.Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques
