President Joe Biden has reportedly been “consumed” by worries about Hunter Biden, despite all the public appearances and words of praise, an unnamed source close to the president told NBC News.
The president’s son has been embroiled in numerous legal cases in recent weeks, and Joe Biden has been pressed repeatedly on their relationship. Despite the increased public scrutiny, the president has been keeping his son close, inviting him to the State Dinner with the Indian prime minister and then flying with him to Camp David in Maryland.
Political advisers have apparently tried to tell the president that keeping his son so close may not be a smart move for his reelection campaign, but Biden’s response has ranged from “defensive to outright angry,” NBC reported. He will not accept any suggestions to distance himself from his son, and his message about Hunter Biden boils down to “hands off my family,” according to the outlet. (RELATED: Is Joe Biden Ready To Sacrifice Hunter For The White House?)
“It’s consumed him,” a source close to the president reportedly told NBC.
US President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden watch as Beau Biden is greeted before boarding Marine One at Andrews Air Force Base June 24, 2023, in Maryland. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The president’s sensitivity towards his son has also been apparent in his remarks and the language from the White House. The president became visibly upset after a reporter asked him if he was truly sitting next to his son during the Chinese business deal, and the White House has repeatedly maintained that he’s proud of his son.
On June 20, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to two counts of tax fraud misdemeanors and entered a plea deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on a gun charge. Two days later, documents unsealed by the House Ways and Means Committee showed an IRS whistleblower had alleged Hunter Biden threatened a Chinese business associate by texting him that Joe Biden was sitting next to him.
Hunter Biden has also been facing a paternity case over wanting to lower child support payments for his out-of-wedlock daughter, and was deposed Thursday for a civil suit with a Delaware computer repair shop salesman.
Those close to the president have given up attempting to explain the optics of having Hunter Biden in the public eye, according to NBC.
The president and the White House Counsel’s office have maintained the president was “not in business” with his son.