Hunter Biden shrugged off personal attacks leveled at him by President Trump and other members of the Trump family, saying his father Joe Biden would “never” stoop that low.
“As it relates to whether he can take on Donald Trump, absolutely. But my dad doesn’t go after other people’s kids. He just doesn’t. Never has,” Hunter Biden told ABC News in an interview on Tuesday.
Hunter Biden, 49, has become a target on the campaign trail as his father, the former vice president, vies for the right to be Trump’s Democratic presidential challenger next year. The younger Biden’s business interests in Ukraine are now fodder for an impeachment inquiry into whether Trump improperly leveraged U.S. military aid to encourage the Ukrainian government to dig up dirt on his potential rival’s family.
His dealings in China have also come under scrutiny for the perception he took advantage of his access for financial gain. Eric Trump led a “lock him up” chant at a recent Trump rally over the allegations.
Hunter Biden admitted on Tuesday that it was a lapse in judgment to accept a $50,000-a-month position on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company from 2014 to April, part of which time his father was President Barack Obama’s No. 2, but denied any wrongdoing.
“Being the subject of Donald Trump’s ire is a feather in my cap. It’s not something that I go to bed nervous about at night at all. The reason I’m able to do that is because I am absolutely enveloped in love of my family,” Hunter Biden said Tuesday.
Biden added being in the political crosshairs didn’t compare to other struggles he’d experienced in life, including alcohol and drug addition. The Georgetown University and Yale Law School graduate was discharged from the Navy reserve in 2014 for testing positive to cocaine.
“I’ve been through some sh– stuff in my life. I’ve been through some real, real stuff. This isn’t real stuff. It isn’t. It truly isn’t. That part of it, that Barnum and Bailey — you know, say anything, do anything you want, you know, I mean, like, you know, Donald Prince Humperdinck Trump Jr. is not somebody that I really care about,” he said, referring to the famous circus company and the villain in cult movie classic, The Princess Bride.
.@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden on his relationship with his dad: “My dad doesn’t have to defend me. My dad only has to love me and my dad loves me unequivocally.” https://t.co/rmDKGz1o7O pic.twitter.com/fIoaZBWIUX
— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 15, 2019
While claiming to take “no pleasure” in “watching this death spiral of this administration,” Biden teared up as he explained how it was “really hard” for him to be “snarky” or “combative” because he “was raised to respect that office.”
“I hope that — that the history isn’t fully written yet. I hope that a lot of people that have a chance at redemption here stand up for what is right,” he said.
