Hunter Biden – The Latest (Perhaps Greatest) Presidential Problem Child – Allegations against Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, have been swirling in Washington for years.
As CNN reported, the basic outline is that somehow while Hunter Biden was in the throes of a drug addiction that was so bad it broke up his family, he was able to make millions of dollars from foreign companies by peddling influence.
It is also important to note that there seems to be a lot of smoke, yet no actual fire has been found – as no criminal charges have ever been filed. What we know is that Hunter Biden made a lot of money from foreign sources while his father ran for president, and likely the investigations will continue.
Critics of the GOP’s efforts to investigate Hunter Biden suggest it is a witch hunt, and that efforts continue to find a crime.
On the flip side, Republicans argue that a lack of federal charges against Hunter Biden for either tax evasion or his gun purchase – for which he lied on a form about past drug use – is either laziness or worse.
In truth, the gun issue should likely be seen as the bigger of Hunter Biden’s problems, as he committed a felony for lying on a form.
Those who call for red flag laws, and want greater background checks on firearms, as well as enforcement of those laws, could certainly start with Hunter Biden.
Presidential Problem Child
The truth is that Hunter Biden is more likely the latest presidential family black sheep – a Ne’er-do-well who likely wouldn’t have gotten far in life without key family connections or his last name.
Yet, Hunter Biden is just the latest problem child of a president.
More than 200 years ago, another presidential son was often in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. That would be Charles Adams, son of President John Adams (not the American cartoonist). While his brother John Quincy Adams would follow in his father’s footsteps all the way to the White House, Charles was more likely heading to the local pubs where his outrageous behavior and alcohol-fueled hijinks were a source of embarrassment to his parents and siblings alike. Though crack cocaine hasn’t killed Hunter Biden, alcohol did reportedly take the life of Charles Adams, who died in New York City at age 30! His legacy is to be the first child of a president to die while the president was in office.
Fast forward a century and Alice Roosevelt gave her father President Theodore Roosevelt probably as many headaches as Hunter gives Joe. She didn’t do anything illegal, but she was noted for her excessive drinking and partying at a time when such activities were truly the girls gone wild of the era.
“I can be president of the United States, or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both,” Teddy Roosevelt even stated in frustration at one point!
John Aspinwall Roosevelt, son of President Franklin Roosevelt, was a black sheep of the family not for excessive drinking or carousing – rather unlike the rest of the Hyde Park Roosevelt clan, he was a Republican. Fortunately for his progressive mother Eleanor, John lacked any political aspirations!
There is always the (unlikely) chance that Hunter Biden could follow another presidential family black sheep to greater things. George W. Bush, son of President George H.W. Bush, was once considered so unpredictable that in 1991 he was under strict orders from his parents not to address Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to the White House!
Of course, the younger Bush went on to become president and unlike his father was even reelected to a second term. However, months into his first term, his twin daughters Barbara and Jenna, were cited for alcohol possession in an Austin restaurant when they were 19. It was actually the second offense for Jenna, who pleaded “no contest” to another alcohol possession charge a month earlier.
Offspring aren’t the only family members that likely caused headaches and embarrassment for some presidents. The rogue’s gallery includes the likes of Sam Houston Johnson, Billy Carter, Roger Clinton, and Neil Bush. And let’s not even get started on the problem children of the Kennedy Clan!
At best, Hunter Biden has ensured his lasting legacy as one of the true great black sheep of presidential families. By contrast, who even remembers the name of Clinton’s daughter or Nixon’s kids?
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Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
