Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has conveyed significant worry regarding Hunter Biden’s recent public engagements. In an interview with NBC’s Kristen Walker on the December 18 episode of Meet the Press, she raised doubts about the choice to increase his public presence and pondered the potential repercussions for the present administration.
Welker initiated the conversation by highlighting Hunter Biden’s choice to conduct a press conference in front of Capitol Hill on December 13. She inquired whether Psaki believed that it was beneficial.
“If you’re sitting in the White House right now, you’re like, “Please, Hunter Biden, we know your dad loves you. Please stop talking in public,'” Psaki responded. While acknowledging that it wasn’t advantageous for the president’s son to be in the public eye, the former press secretary then tempered her position slightly, indicating that the president’s love for his son was of utmost importance.
Psaki also expressed her perspective on the advantages of the president choosing to stand by his visibly troubled son, even amidst criminal accusations. Describing it as “appealing,” she proposed that voters could be inspired by President Biden’s loyalty rather than discouraged by it.
However, she cautiously pointed out that the White House is unlikely to share the same favorable sentiment, contemplating that they would prefer Hunter Biden to step back from the public spotlight.
The timing of Hunter Biden’s press conference struck many as peculiar, given that he was slated to testify before a GOP-led House Committee investigating President Joe Biden for impeachment during that same timeframe.
Nevertheless, Hunter ultimately decided not to comply with the subpoena or provide his scheduled testimony. Instead, he utilized the press conference to criticize the committee, asserting that their investigation was based on distortions, manipulated evidence, and falsehoods.
The president’s son did acknowledge numerous mistakes and took responsibility for them. However, he promptly accused the “Maga Right” of betraying him to further a political agenda. Hunter Biden also asserted that the GOP dehumanized him for grappling with addictions, alleging that an “unrelenting Trump attack team” had spent the last six years attacking his character by questioning his whereabouts. Speaking out publicly is his way of responding to these criticisms.
The exact sentiments of President Biden regarding his son’s choice to defy the subpoena and hold a press conference remain uncertain. The president opted not to provide a statement during an event of his own later that day.
