"Hunter Biden for President"
On September 5th, when John Katsimandides, a host on WABC radio in New York, asked if he would run for president, Hunter replied that if he received support from the other party, he “might have to run.” He also emphasized that he had not made a decision yet, and listed “abiding by the constitution and rule of law” as an important qualification for serving as president.
What really deserves attention is not the sentence itself, but the changes that have been happening to Hunter over the past few months.
For a long time, his role in American politics was essentially one: Joe Biden’s 'problem child'.
Drug use, alcohol abuse, the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, the "laptop" scandal, and the subsequent legal cases have made Hunter the easiest target for Republicans to attack the Biden family. In 2024, he was convicted by a federal jury for concealing his drug problem when purchasing a firearm, and later pleaded guilty to tax-related charges. Eventually, Joe Biden granted his son a wide-ranging presidential pardon before leaving office—a decision that even went against his previously public pledge not to grant such pardons.
In other words, during Biden's presidency, Hunter's most important political role was to cause trouble for his father.
But now, he is trying to rewrite this character.
The Wall Street Journal noted that Hunter has recently engaged in a rare series of intensive media exposures: he has appeared on news shows, podcasts, and online media, managed his own Substack platform, and even taken the initiative to engage in conversations with conservative figures who have previously attacked him harshly. He has talked about his addiction, his periods of sobriety, and his father’s health, and he has also openly discussed issues related to Democratic politics and American politics.
The core of this transformation is repackaging past lethal liabilities into political assets.
In the past, "addicts" meant loss of control and scandal; now Hunter emphasizes that he has maintained sobriety for a long time, and he sees addiction as a unique experience that helps him understand American society. He even considers helping tens of millions of Americans who are troubled by addiction to be an important issue.
In the past, judicial cases demonstrated the political risks he posed to the Biden family. Now his narrative becomes more and more accurate: I have personally experienced judicial investigations, media harassment, and political humiliation. Therefore, I understand power, the rule of law, and political struggle better than ordinary politicians.
This is precisely the common 'narrative flip' among politicians: when a resume cannot be deleted, it is reinterpreted.
Even the Biden family is starting to conform to this idea. In August of this year, Jill Biden was asked what she would say if Hunter wanted to run for president. Her answer was just one word: “Run.” Although she later emphasized that this reflects more of her parents’ support for their children’s choices, this question can now be openly asked in public interviews, which speaks volumes.
Of course, Hunter is still a long way from becoming the Democratic presidential candidate in 2028. He doesn’t have a traditional political background, and he has sparked significant controversy. Within the Democratic Party, people like Kevin Nixon, JB Price, and Andy Beschil are already considered potential candidates. Hunter himself mentioned these names in interviews.
So, a more accurate assessment now is not 'Hunter is preparing to run for president', but rather: Hunter has for the first time begun to hope that the public will perceive him as a political figure.
This is already a significant change.
In the past ten years or so, Americans learned about Hunter Biden because his father was the president. Now, he is trying to let Americans get to know “Hunter Biden” himself.
As for whether the presidential candidate is the ultimate decision, that isn’t really important. For a name that was once almost synonymous with the “Biden family scandal,” getting the issue discussed seriously by the public is already the first achievement of this political rebranding effort.
