Hunter Biden just can’t seem to catch a break in the conservative media.
Right-leaning readers reacted strongly to the news that the president’s son reportedly took an expensive private jet to a court hearing in Arkansas. Hunter has been embroiled in a trial about his illegitimate daughter.
He wants to reduce the amount of money he is paying for child support due to financial hardship. But instead of flying coach to save money and to show that he is living on a budget, the younger Biden took a $6 million private jet owned by a crony to court in late April.
Hunter Biden Just Doesn’t Get It
The flight may have cost between $55,000 and $117,000 for a round-trip flight from Washington, DC to Arkansas – the location of the trial. Critics of the younger Biden say that this is an example of Hunter’s frivolity and disregard for the negative political perception of his actions. Hunter Biden does not seem to care that he looks hypocritical and out of touch with the common man. The president’s son claims poverty yet still displays the trappings of the uber-wealthy.
Attempt to Reduce the Amount of Money He Pays in Child Support
The latest saga involves his daughter from a woman named Lunden Roberts. Hunter and Ms. Roberts had a daughter together that was confirmed by a DNA test. The child’s name is Navy and Hunter has reportedly paid this family $750,000 in child support that equates to $20,000 a month.
Due to a lavish spending lifestyle and extremely high legal fees, Hunter is reportedly low on funds. One way he wants to trim his budget is to reduce the child support payments he makes to the Roberts family.
The Right-Wing Pounces on Social Media
Conservative Charlie Kirk, the head of Turning Point USA blasted the president’s son on Twitter. “Hunter Biden actually flew in a PRIVATE JET to his Arkansas child support hearing to claim he was too poor to make his monthly payment,” Kirk wrote. “The cost of the flight was the equivalent of at least 6 months of child support payments.”
Another Twitter user castigated Hunter in the following fashion. “Hunter Biden, despite claiming poverty, chooses luxury over responsibility, arriving at child support hearing via private jet. Another example of entitled elites taking advantage of the system.”
What Is Going Through Hunter’s Mind?
Hunter Biden seems to be living in an alternate universe in which he doesn’t care about what the public thinks. But this trial could cause damages beyond what he is currently paying in child support. The defense attorney for his girlfriend could demand in discovery more details about Hunter’s finances which would call into question some of his business practices overseas.
Hunter is currently being investigated for tax fraud. He has allegedly mis-stated his earnings to pay less taxes to the IRS and he did not file a tax return on two occasions.
The president’s son seems impervious to criticism and is apparently not aware of the optics in the case that make him look out of touch and hypocritical. It is not fair to his girlfriend and daughter to claim poverty, ride on an expensive private jet, then try to reduce child support payments.
Hunter Biden continues to lose the battle in the court of public opinion. While the private jet travel has raised ire, the jury is supposed to ignore outside media stories about the court proceedings. But to observers this is another example of Hunter’s willful disregard of common sense and immature actions that make him look like a wealthy father who does not care about the plight of his working-class family.
It appears he is willing to withhold funds from his illegitimate family to live a lavish lifestyle, and this shows that Hunter’s judgment is often impaired – not a good look for such a controversial political figure already embattled by scandal.
Author Expertise and Experience
Serving as 19FortyFive’s Defense and National Security Editor, Dr. Brent M. Eastwood is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and Foreign Policy/ International Relations.
