President Biden says he is ‘proud’ of son Hunter amid political and legal upheaval

President Joe Biden discussed his son, Hunter Biden, in an interview on CNN this week, telling Jake Tapper he is “proud” of Hunter and the way he has handled the upheaval of the legal and political scandals surrounding him.

Sitting down with Tapper on Tuesday, Biden spoke about the legal predicaments his son is currently facing. Recent criminal allegations against Hunter Biden include tax fraud and an illegal firearm purchase.

Asked to address the prospect of criminal charges against his son, Biden responded, “I’m confident that he is — what he says and does are consistent with what happens. And for example, he wrote a book about his problems and was straightforward about it. I’m proud of him.”

Regarding the illegal firearm purchase, Biden said, “He came along and said, by the way, this thing about a gun — I didn’t know anything about it. But turns out that when he made [an] application to purchase a gun, what happened was … you get asked a question, are you on drugs or do you use drugs? He said no. And he wrote about saying no in his book.”

Biden addressed his son’s prior drug use and his overcoming addiction, saying, “I’m proud of my son,” the president told Tapper. “This is a kid who got, not a kid — he’s a grown man. He got hooked on — like many families have had happen, hooked on drugs. He’s overcome that. He’s established a new life.”