Is Hunter Finally a PR Problem for Biden?

A story about guns and drugs is now much more complicated–and that may or may not play differently for the president.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

I take a cab to the Beach Cafe whenever I need to book a PR client in a right-wing outlet. The Upper East Side bar and restaurant is such a conservative media watering hole that the owner hung an oil painting of New York Post star Jon Levine on the wall. Although the Beach denizens call me a “libtard,” I always enjoy dining with them because they’re a funny, diverse, and open-minded bunch. At the corner table, you’ll sometimes find Newsmax bookers, conservative bloggers, wealthy heiresses in pearls, theater kids, and even a former NXIM member. (Like Andy Warhol’s Factory in the sixties, the Beach is the one place in Manhattan where you’ll find Republicans, heiresses, actresses, and a former Hollywood cult member socializing together.) 

One major point of contention at the dinner table, though, is always Hunter Biden. Mention President Joe Biden’s son, and you’ll get an earful about emails, foreign influence peddling, and Burisma. 

I always argue that it’s bad press for Hunter, but it doesn’t impact the president. As I recently wrote in Newsweek, most busy Americans interpret the laptop from hell as a tale of a struggling drug addict.

“Everyone I know in rural America has a friend, brother, daughter, son, or acquaintance who has lost everything because of drugs,” I wrote. “When conservatives rail against Hunter for struggling with substances, many Americans—especially swing voters in rural states—hear them saying they don't care about drug addiction. This is a serious problem for Republicans, because opioids are a bipartisan problem. Fentanyl doesn't discriminate against Democrats or Republicans. It kills everyone.”

Every time I recite this speech at the Beach, I am greeted with a chorus of “Burisma! China! The emails!” Finally, I end up yelling, “Drop Hunter! It doesn’t help your side. It only helps mine!” But they continue to rail about the revelations in the laptop from hell, insisting that it’s both an important story and that it will cause problems for the president. 

It ends up that the Beach Cafe crew may have been right. Today, Hunter dropped his plea deal and pleaded not guilty in court after he was informed his plea deal didn’t cover FARA violations. Now, both establishment and right-wing editors are writing headlines about Hunter’s business dealings in China and Ukraine, foreign influence peddling, and Biden family corruption–and this is coming days after the liberal news site Insider revealed a Democrat donor bought one of Hunter’s paintings. 

So, has the recent news changed the equation for President Biden? From a public relations point of view, the right can now point to judges and prosecutors who have highlighted Hunter’s alleged corruption. Republican editorial writers’ accusations sound more legitimate, especially when Hunter’s lawyers rejected a plea the second they heard it wouldn’t cover FARA violations. Republicans can now easily tell a story about an elite family profiting off alleged foreign influence peddling that may have harmed our country. 

The catch is that Republicans must do this without dragging in Hunter’s drug use. Considering the gun charge is tied to his drug use, that’s complicated. It’s also intoxicating for reporters of all political persuasions to write about sex and drugs, and it’s hard to believe that many right-wing blogs can tell this story without getting salacious–let alone that any writer can tell this complicated story in a simple fashion that my swing voter mother could understand. 

On the Democrat side, they need to muddy the waters. They must remind the public of Hunter’s drug use and family tragedies and make the story sound as convoluted as possible. The less the public can follow the story, the better for the president. 

Of course, Democrats risk sounding like they've been covering up for the White House. So Biden needs to address the remaining questions about what he knew about his son’s foreign business dealings and when he knew.

Till Biden answers these questions, controversy will remain. There are still many unknown facts. Right now, it’s unclear who will win the narrative war, but it’s very clear this has become much more complicated for President Biden.