Biden RECOGNIZES his seventh grandchild: President issues first statement on Hunter’s four-year-old daughter — and ‘wants the best for her’
President Joe Biden has acknowledged the four-year-old grandchild Hunter had with Lunden Roberts.
In a statement to Peoplesaid the president, “Our son Hunter and Navy mother Lunden are working together to maintain a relationship that is in their daughter’s best interests, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward.”
“This is not a political issue, it’s a family issue,” Biden’s statement continues. “Jill and I want only the best for all of our grandchildren, including the Navy.”
The stunning turnaround — published late Friday as Biden was out of town and preparing to head to his Delaware beach house — came after months of pressure from the mother and political rivals.
“Jill and I want only the best for all of our grandchildren, including the Navy,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Friday afternoon. Navy Joan (left) poses with mother Lunden Roberts (right)
President Joe Biden has acknowledged the four-year-old grandchild Hunter had with Lunden Roberts
Biden himself drew attention to the issue with some of his statements, including when he referred to his “six grandchildren,” even as he struggled to name all of their names at an event at the White House.
At the White House Christmas party, which the East Wing spends months preparing, only six stockings hung from a mantelpiece—none for the Navy.
That came during Hunter Biden’s ongoing battle for child support in an Arkansas court, as he sought to reduce his monthly payments to reflect his changed circumstances.
The parties settled that case at the end of June.
As revealed this week in a federal court in Wilmington, Hunter had saved millions amid foreign business dealings, while abusing drugs and alcohol and occasionally seeking treatment.
That case, too, brought the president’s son to the attention of the national media at a time when President Biden is seeking re-election and is regularly attacked by former President Donald Trump.
“Jill and I want only the best for all of our grandchildren, including the Navy,” Joe and Jill Biden said in a statement.
Lunden Roberts poses with her daughter Navy Joan, whom President Joe Biden and First Lady Hill Biden finally acknowledged Friday afternoon in quotes to People
Florida Republican presidential hopeful Gov. Ron DeSantis even used the issue in an attack this week.
“The only reason you don’t want the parents involved is because you’re afraid the parent would get in the way of imposing your agenda on someone else’s kids,” he said in Florida. “When Biden says they’re not your kids, they’re all our kids — that’s what he means.”
Then he added, “Now he’s not talking about visiting his granddaughter in Arkansas or even acknowledging that she exists — but that doesn’t matter.”
Former UN Amb. Nikki Haley snapped a similar photo Friday night at the Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Dinner in Iowa as she discussed how easy it would be to pass one of the mental competence tests she’s pitched to officeholders over 75.
“There are no tough tests,” she said. ‘What city were you born in? How many grandchildren do you have?’
The Friday publication had the hallmarks of a “Friday night news dump,” with political figures often trying to get information out when it might have less impact.
It came at the end of a week of high-profile political news, including a replacement charge against former President Donald Trump in his classified documents case.
Each year, Biden hangs stockings at the White House for six of his seven grandchildren, named — but not Navy
Earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the Navy’s support a New York Times report on the subject, which followed extensive coverage by other outlets about it.
“There was a story in The New York Times this weekend about Hunter Biden’s daughter in Arkansas. Does the president recognize this little girl as his granddaughter?” a reporter asked.
“I have nothing to share here,” Jean-Pierre replied.
White House aides had been told at strategy meetings to say publicly that the president and first lady have only six grandchildren — two people familiar with the discussions, told The Times.
The president makes family an important part of his political identity and once again quoted his father in remarks in Maine, where he talked about manufacturing and the importance of work.
This year he made a trip to Ireland where he tracked down distant relatives. It all made the refusal to acknowledge his flesh and blood more striking.