People are split on whether Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has been honest about his son Hunter’s business activities overseas, according to a new poll.
A Washington Examiner/YouGov poll found that 41% of registered voters believe Biden has been honest, with 45% saying he has not been honest.
Hunter Biden, 50, has faced scrutiny over whether his controversial paid role on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, was intended to influence the Obama administration. His father was then the vice president and served as the White House’s point man on Ukrainian policy.
The New York Post reported that it obtained emails purporting to show that the younger Biden introduced a Ukrainian businessman to his vice president father. The elder Biden and his presidential campaign have steadfastly denied any conflicts of interest or improper influence.
Whether the public believes the Democratic presidential candidate breaks down largely along partisan lines: 75% of Democrats think Biden has been honest, while 92% of Republicans say he has been dishonest. Among independents, the breakdown 46% honest to 34% honest.
President Trump has repeatedly tried to make a campaign issue out of Hunter Biden’s business dealings. His comments to Ukrainian officials about a potential investigation of these Burisma ties while U.S. military aid to the country was pending triggered an impeachment inquiry. The Democratic-controlled House impeached Trump, and the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him earlier this year.
Major social media companies restricted users’ ability to share the New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s emails, a decision Republicans decried as an illegal in-kind donation to his father’s presidential campaign. More than three-quarters of registered voters believe companies such as Facebook and Twitter have too much influence over the news people read, according to the Washington Examiner/YouGov poll.
Democrats have decried the latest Hunter Biden reports as Russian disinformation disseminated by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump attorney and ally. John Ratcliffe, the Trump-appointed director of national intelligence, has disputed this.
The poll suggests that outside of the Democratic base, there are some nagging questions about whether the former vice president is telling the whole story about his son’s business ventures. Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee and the Homeland Security Committee released a joint report last month, sharing unflattering details about them.
Biden angrily defended his son against Trump’s criticism in their first presidential debate.
The Washington Examiner/YouGov poll was conducted among 1,200 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
