I am confused as to why no mention of Ivanka and Jared as it relates to 'family' in the WH'? Yes, Hunter has visited the WH but has never worked in the WH and been a member of an Administration. Yet the grift that has been reported about Ivanka and Jared seem to be of the 'never mind, what about Hunter' variety. Would that any of the Trump's family members shady dealings got near the attention that Hunter has gotten,
That's been my response. Tell me about Jarvanka's Trademark deals with the Chicoms while riding on Air Force One and that 2 billion dollar deal with the MBS Bonesaw Cult. Hunter is still bad optics, innuendo and insinuations. I agree Joe should get Hunter out of the spotlight and stop making optics issues for Fox and Comer to play with.
Trump's whole family is demonstrably corrupt. Biden? He could babysit my kids as long as Hunter stays home.
Neither Ivanka or Jared were paid for working in the WH, I think. Also, there hasn't (yet) been any stories of them explicitly selling access to DT. Though Jared's dealing with the Saudis raise some implicit suggestions, nothing seems clear on that.
Newsweek (often quick to jump on anti-trump stories) actually partially debunked some of the wilder allegations in 2022.
I think the quick answer is, while there's lots that stinks in their behaviour, none of it appears directly illegal or corrupt. Aside from Trump's businesses doing really well during his presidency, but that's already well-known and not going to change anybody's minds at this point.
Generally the people you're trying to get to see this are people already excusing Trump's behaviour. None of this is going to move the needle for them.
Well, I did say 'I think'. But according to an NBC report, both of them " forgo their WH salaries". And they didn't claim any salaries on their taxes from what I see. Maybe they did collect them and they're lying, but at this point it appears they didn't.
They were profiting well enough from the other enterprises that they didn't need the 100,000 / year they'd have been paid as staffers.
Whether Jarvanka got paid for working in the WH is irrelevant. It should be important that neither of them could get a security clearance, but it's not. As you say, the needle won't move, especially when no one brings it up. Maybe dems should throw more mud at the Trumpists. Personally, I wish the Republicans in congress would quit wasting time digging in the mud.
The needle won't move because the people you're trying to convince all already know and have made up their minds about it. I'm not sure what the right answer is out of this, but I'm pretty certain that throwing more mud isn't the right of it. And yes, I wish the U.S. Congress would actually do things like legislating, as well.
I'm honestly not trying to change any minds that have been made up on this topic. They already found what they wanted to find. I kept looking in case there was something Joe Biden really did wrong. He should stay away from his only remaining son because Republicans will make up negative stories. Okay.
I agree on Hunter being a little more aware of his reputation and the impact that can have on his dad...like, dude, take a step back from the limelight.
You’d think, if he cared about his father as much as his father seems to care about him, he would do exactly that. But the guy has no discernible moral compass.
I still believe that this Hunter Biden thing is NOTHINGBURGER. Unless and until the Republicans can prove that President Biden used his position to benefit his son or profitEd materially from his son's dubious business dealings, the issue remains a non issue in my book and I believe in most Americans' view as evidenced by recent polls( for people who believe in polls, you should believe this as well) Now what is SOMETHINGBURGER is if Hunter Biden was working or ever worked in the White House and received Tax Payers' dollars. Or if Hunter Biden got 2 BILLION Dollars from Saudi Prince. SHORTLY after leaving the Whit House. May be the senate oversight committee should be looking into that as well .
If supporting his son makes him lose the presidency and leaves us with Trump, so be it. And I will be very sorry for the American people. But the article by David Brooks comes to mind. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/17/opinion/marriage-happiness-career.html. It talks about marriage but children are included. The presidency is but for a short period. Joe Bidens’ family is his life.
I’ve said it before, if Hunter Biden did wrong, indict him. He should be treated no different than anyone else, as we know “no one is above the law”. I do think that Joe Biden should try to get ahead of the situation as it will be a huge issue with Trump, who will pound it into the ground that the Biden’s are a crime family and Trump is the only one being prosecuted. However, Hunter Biden is not running for president and has not or will not be in the administration. A huge difference in my mind. Get down and dirty? Go after Javanka, they were in the administration!
They were in Trump 's Presidency and received 2 BILLION dollars from the Saudi Prince SHORTLY after leaving the White House. May be the AG also should appoint a Special counsel to look into Javanka
“A 2018 text message from Hunter Biden in which he claimed to have paid his father's bills for more than a decade suggests further evidence of the first family's corruption”
That’s from Elise Stefanik’s weekly newsletter to constituents just to point to some of the disgusting, dishonest nonsense.
In 2018 Hunter was addicted to crack, but at the same time he was paying Joe’s bills? But, a guy who was addicted to crack cocaine said it in a text at the time. The burden of proof is really subterranean.
Rick Wilson’s ETTD can’t come soon enough for some creeps.
I’m curious why the “rally round the felon” effect that is propelling Trump in the Republican primary doesn’t extend to Hunter Biden. It seems like every crackpot conspiracy theory that House Republicans come up with should help Joe Biden.
I think that the take on this--that Trump and the Republicans are using and will continue to use this story as proof of moral equivalency between the current President and the former President, is exactly right. The thing is, from people I talk to personally (who tend to float around "in the middle" of the political spectrum), it appears to be working.
Ooo some of my favorite columns of yours at CNN/WaPo was when you would reach out to someone and have a conversation about something in the news. Love this!
If Biden isn’t open to get advice around this, his aides should talk directly to Hunter Biden and Jill about it. Congress should also put forward an ethics package. There should have been several rounds of this post Trump. It’s clear that norms are now just suggestions in and around the White House post Trump. They should all be laws with teeth. No more influence peddling. #BeBetterAmerica #TrumpProofThePresidency
Agree. As I said above, I am surprised that Hunter Biden wouldn't be aware that he is a liability to his dad and work to make it better (or at least no worse).
Hmm. Congress could pass an anti-nepotism law aimed at Hunter, but that might upset Trump because it would also apply to Ivanka! It would put Republicans in an awkward spot - so Democrats should go for it!
I understand the danger to Biden, but my outrage is stymied by the fact that over-promising one’s access to the principal in return for money is a LEGAL Washington business model. Lobbyists do it every damn day.
I don't know what the right answer is; IF Hunter Biden sold access to Joe Biden AND Joe Biden participated in that scheme while profiting off it. THAT would be a huge story. IF Joe Biden took it further and changed official policy as VP to profit off said access THAT would be almost as bad as what Donald Trump did in office (I won't say accused of because what Donald Trump did was literally in the open for all to see). That being said, there is no evidence that any of that is true.
Do I believe Joe Biden had no idea that his son was peddling fake influence off his last name? Nope. Not in the slightest. Roger Clinton did it, Jimmy Carter's brother did it, and I am sure others did it too. I don't buy that either of THEM didn't know what their family members were doing either.
How much do I care? The answer is not much. Hunter is free to profit off his name all he wants, as unsavory as that is, so long as it does not interfere with policy. Hell, Trump's son in law just got a few BILLION from the Saudis (to the general indifference of the world). What I would love to see is Joe Biden enact some rules and push for law changes to regulate this more closely. That would speak louder to me than all the drip-drip revelations.
“He’s been accused of using his proximity to the president (since he became Vice President in 2009) to enrich himself by taking what amount to bribes in return for (the illusion or reality of) access. Pay me this large sum on money and I’ll talk to the Vice President, former VP, or President himself on your behalf and get him to do you favors.”
Fair enough, but you make it sound like he’s the only one who ever profited as a scion to the president. George W was an unofficial advisor to his father. He first got a plum job on the Board of the Carlyle Group; one of the largest and most politically connected hedge funds in republican circles. He had no experience and was fired after a year. Then gets a job as GM for the Texas Rangers with no experience and cashed out a rich man, making $15 million. Then his name gets him elected as governor of Texas; no experience. And we all no what comes after that.
And don’t get me started with Trump’s kids who were actual advisors and even the ones that weren’t, have profited greatly. Kushner got a $1 billion dollar buyout of his families investment in 666 Fifth Ave a month before they was about to default on the mortgage by Qatar. Kushner was the senior official overseeing ME policy at the time.
When republicans do it; no problem. When democrats do it, it’s a scandal. Its Washington people; would you expect anything less?
And yes. What Hunter did is despicable, but nothing compared to the shenanigans of the Trump family or the good fortune of Dubya, who was a drunk and owes his entire fortune and career to a family name.
Chris, I am really happy to speak to you directly. I'm a media analyst for Ad Fontes Media —adfontesmedia.com. We rate CNN online as considerably less biased and higher in reliability than CNN cable news. You have a lot of great writing on the site. I'm not speaking for my company, but I believe CNN should consider offering a paid version of the web site. Shorn of all ads and most of those gotcha videos, it would easily be worth five dollars a month. Also, there ought to be a way of integrating some of the great material from CNN International into the paid site.
"the president himself has done nothing to separate himself from his son, who still visits the White House and has even attended a state dinner within the last couple of months. That seems reckless to me."
and in light of this poll:
"Among those who plan to vote for Trump, 71% feel that what he tells them is true — higher than the results for friends and family (63%), conservative media figures (56%) or religious leaders (42%)." is that bad thing?
I am confused as to why no mention of Ivanka and Jared as it relates to 'family' in the WH'? Yes, Hunter has visited the WH but has never worked in the WH and been a member of an Administration. Yet the grift that has been reported about Ivanka and Jared seem to be of the 'never mind, what about Hunter' variety. Would that any of the Trump's family members shady dealings got near the attention that Hunter has gotten,
That's been my response. Tell me about Jarvanka's Trademark deals with the Chicoms while riding on Air Force One and that 2 billion dollar deal with the MBS Bonesaw Cult. Hunter is still bad optics, innuendo and insinuations. I agree Joe should get Hunter out of the spotlight and stop making optics issues for Fox and Comer to play with.
Trump's whole family is demonstrably corrupt. Biden? He could babysit my kids as long as Hunter stays home.
Neither Ivanka or Jared were paid for working in the WH, I think. Also, there hasn't (yet) been any stories of them explicitly selling access to DT. Though Jared's dealing with the Saudis raise some implicit suggestions, nothing seems clear on that.
Newsweek (often quick to jump on anti-trump stories) actually partially debunked some of the wilder allegations in 2022.
I think the quick answer is, while there's lots that stinks in their behaviour, none of it appears directly illegal or corrupt. Aside from Trump's businesses doing really well during his presidency, but that's already well-known and not going to change anybody's minds at this point.
Generally the people you're trying to get to see this are people already excusing Trump's behaviour. None of this is going to move the needle for them.
What are you talking about? Jared had a formal Senior Advisor role in the White House, with an office.
Well, I did say 'I think'. But according to an NBC report, both of them " forgo their WH salaries". And they didn't claim any salaries on their taxes from what I see. Maybe they did collect them and they're lying, but at this point it appears they didn't.
They were profiting well enough from the other enterprises that they didn't need the 100,000 / year they'd have been paid as staffers.
It was a formal Senior Advisor role. Salary was meaningless. He was a public employee with public accountability.
Whether Jarvanka got paid for working in the WH is irrelevant. It should be important that neither of them could get a security clearance, but it's not. As you say, the needle won't move, especially when no one brings it up. Maybe dems should throw more mud at the Trumpists. Personally, I wish the Republicans in congress would quit wasting time digging in the mud.
The needle won't move because the people you're trying to convince all already know and have made up their minds about it. I'm not sure what the right answer is out of this, but I'm pretty certain that throwing more mud isn't the right of it. And yes, I wish the U.S. Congress would actually do things like legislating, as well.
I'm honestly not trying to change any minds that have been made up on this topic. They already found what they wanted to find. I kept looking in case there was something Joe Biden really did wrong. He should stay away from his only remaining son because Republicans will make up negative stories. Okay.
Excellent discussion.
There seems to be a middle ground from the way Uncle Joe is handling this issue poorly by having Hunter around.
Joe has to separate from Hunter publically. See him in Delaware...no where when Joe is on official business.
Hunter also needs to step up. He is now clean and sober and should realize how much damage he has/is doing to his father's presidency.
His responsibility is to help his father by keeping out of the limelight and decline any invites from Joe in a public forum.
I agree on Hunter being a little more aware of his reputation and the impact that can have on his dad...like, dude, take a step back from the limelight.
You’d think, if he cared about his father as much as his father seems to care about him, he would do exactly that. But the guy has no discernible moral compass.
>The suggestion that he should freeze out his only surviving child
Not to be a THAT GUY but Biden also has a daughter, Ashley.
I still believe that this Hunter Biden thing is NOTHINGBURGER. Unless and until the Republicans can prove that President Biden used his position to benefit his son or profitEd materially from his son's dubious business dealings, the issue remains a non issue in my book and I believe in most Americans' view as evidenced by recent polls( for people who believe in polls, you should believe this as well) Now what is SOMETHINGBURGER is if Hunter Biden was working or ever worked in the White House and received Tax Payers' dollars. Or if Hunter Biden got 2 BILLION Dollars from Saudi Prince. SHORTLY after leaving the Whit House. May be the senate oversight committee should be looking into that as well .
If supporting his son makes him lose the presidency and leaves us with Trump, so be it. And I will be very sorry for the American people. But the article by David Brooks comes to mind. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/17/opinion/marriage-happiness-career.html. It talks about marriage but children are included. The presidency is but for a short period. Joe Bidens’ family is his life.
If that is the case, he should not be running for reelection.
I agree to that statement!!!
I’ve said it before, if Hunter Biden did wrong, indict him. He should be treated no different than anyone else, as we know “no one is above the law”. I do think that Joe Biden should try to get ahead of the situation as it will be a huge issue with Trump, who will pound it into the ground that the Biden’s are a crime family and Trump is the only one being prosecuted. However, Hunter Biden is not running for president and has not or will not be in the administration. A huge difference in my mind. Get down and dirty? Go after Javanka, they were in the administration!
They were in Trump 's Presidency and received 2 BILLION dollars from the Saudi Prince SHORTLY after leaving the White House. May be the AG also should appoint a Special counsel to look into Javanka
“A 2018 text message from Hunter Biden in which he claimed to have paid his father's bills for more than a decade suggests further evidence of the first family's corruption”
That’s from Elise Stefanik’s weekly newsletter to constituents just to point to some of the disgusting, dishonest nonsense.
In 2018 Hunter was addicted to crack, but at the same time he was paying Joe’s bills? But, a guy who was addicted to crack cocaine said it in a text at the time. The burden of proof is really subterranean.
Rick Wilson’s ETTD can’t come soon enough for some creeps.
I’m curious why the “rally round the felon” effect that is propelling Trump in the Republican primary doesn’t extend to Hunter Biden. It seems like every crackpot conspiracy theory that House Republicans come up with should help Joe Biden.
I think that the take on this--that Trump and the Republicans are using and will continue to use this story as proof of moral equivalency between the current President and the former President, is exactly right. The thing is, from people I talk to personally (who tend to float around "in the middle" of the political spectrum), it appears to be working.
Yeah...that's the thing. It muddies the waters just enough for it to make it harder for Biden to make a clear contrast to Trump on ethics stuff.
Ooo some of my favorite columns of yours at CNN/WaPo was when you would reach out to someone and have a conversation about something in the news. Love this!
Thanks! I am going to bring this feature back because I really like it too!
If Biden isn’t open to get advice around this, his aides should talk directly to Hunter Biden and Jill about it. Congress should also put forward an ethics package. There should have been several rounds of this post Trump. It’s clear that norms are now just suggestions in and around the White House post Trump. They should all be laws with teeth. No more influence peddling. #BeBetterAmerica #TrumpProofThePresidency
Agree. As I said above, I am surprised that Hunter Biden wouldn't be aware that he is a liability to his dad and work to make it better (or at least no worse).
Hmm. Congress could pass an anti-nepotism law aimed at Hunter, but that might upset Trump because it would also apply to Ivanka! It would put Republicans in an awkward spot - so Democrats should go for it!
I understand the danger to Biden, but my outrage is stymied by the fact that over-promising one’s access to the principal in return for money is a LEGAL Washington business model. Lobbyists do it every damn day.
I don't know what the right answer is; IF Hunter Biden sold access to Joe Biden AND Joe Biden participated in that scheme while profiting off it. THAT would be a huge story. IF Joe Biden took it further and changed official policy as VP to profit off said access THAT would be almost as bad as what Donald Trump did in office (I won't say accused of because what Donald Trump did was literally in the open for all to see). That being said, there is no evidence that any of that is true.
Do I believe Joe Biden had no idea that his son was peddling fake influence off his last name? Nope. Not in the slightest. Roger Clinton did it, Jimmy Carter's brother did it, and I am sure others did it too. I don't buy that either of THEM didn't know what their family members were doing either.
How much do I care? The answer is not much. Hunter is free to profit off his name all he wants, as unsavory as that is, so long as it does not interfere with policy. Hell, Trump's son in law just got a few BILLION from the Saudis (to the general indifference of the world). What I would love to see is Joe Biden enact some rules and push for law changes to regulate this more closely. That would speak louder to me than all the drip-drip revelations.
“He’s been accused of using his proximity to the president (since he became Vice President in 2009) to enrich himself by taking what amount to bribes in return for (the illusion or reality of) access. Pay me this large sum on money and I’ll talk to the Vice President, former VP, or President himself on your behalf and get him to do you favors.”
Fair enough, but you make it sound like he’s the only one who ever profited as a scion to the president. George W was an unofficial advisor to his father. He first got a plum job on the Board of the Carlyle Group; one of the largest and most politically connected hedge funds in republican circles. He had no experience and was fired after a year. Then gets a job as GM for the Texas Rangers with no experience and cashed out a rich man, making $15 million. Then his name gets him elected as governor of Texas; no experience. And we all no what comes after that.
And don’t get me started with Trump’s kids who were actual advisors and even the ones that weren’t, have profited greatly. Kushner got a $1 billion dollar buyout of his families investment in 666 Fifth Ave a month before they was about to default on the mortgage by Qatar. Kushner was the senior official overseeing ME policy at the time.
When republicans do it; no problem. When democrats do it, it’s a scandal. Its Washington people; would you expect anything less?
And yes. What Hunter did is despicable, but nothing compared to the shenanigans of the Trump family or the good fortune of Dubya, who was a drunk and owes his entire fortune and career to a family name.
GW parlayed his name and daddy's rolodex into owning a baseball team. Wish I could have done that.
As the parent of an adult child with mental health problems I can tell you there is very little our current laws allow you to do for your child.
Really enjoyed this conversation. Please do it more often.
Thanks, Jim. Will do.
Chris, I am really happy to speak to you directly. I'm a media analyst for Ad Fontes Media —adfontesmedia.com. We rate CNN online as considerably less biased and higher in reliability than CNN cable news. You have a lot of great writing on the site. I'm not speaking for my company, but I believe CNN should consider offering a paid version of the web site. Shorn of all ads and most of those gotcha videos, it would easily be worth five dollars a month. Also, there ought to be a way of integrating some of the great material from CNN International into the paid site.
"the president himself has done nothing to separate himself from his son, who still visits the White House and has even attended a state dinner within the last couple of months. That seems reckless to me."
and in light of this poll:
"Among those who plan to vote for Trump, 71% feel that what he tells them is true — higher than the results for friends and family (63%), conservative media figures (56%) or religious leaders (42%)." is that bad thing?
No it's not a bad thing if Trump was an honest or at least near honest. This phenomenon is what see in an occultist relationship