His son, Hunter Biden, one of President Biden’s most trusted advisers, has advised his father to continue with the campaign despite his disastrous performance in last week’s debate, creating a potential conflict of interest.
Hunter Biden was among those urging his father to stay in the presidential race at a family gathering at Camp David on Sunday, the person said. Report from the New York Times.
“Hunter Biden wants to show the American people the fighting, fact-ready father he knows, not the shambling, aging president they saw on Thursday night,” the report said, noting that the president’s son has been one of his most trusted advisers “for a long time.”
The president’s son, along with First Lady Jill Biden, reportedly encouraged him to see it through to November, while other family members, including his grandson, have also expressed a desire to do more to support the campaign, with the latter suggesting reaching out to influencers on social media.
Former Rep. Charlie Rangel, 94, has questioned whether Biden should be in a nursing home rather than the White House.
President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden participate in the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 1, 2024. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But the man with the most to lose if his father drops out of the race is Hunter Biden: The president’s son was convicted in a federal firearms trial last month and is due to be sentenced later this year in a separate federal tax trial.
While President Biden has the power to pardon his son in both cases (a president can grant a pardon in the future, i.e. before the trial), he has suggested he believes the first trial was fair so far and will “agree with the jury’s decision.”
“I’m not going to do anything,” Biden told reporters last month.
Mike Howell, executive director of the Heritage Foundation Oversight Project, told Fox News Digital that the president’s son advocating to stay in the race is far worse than a run-of-the-mill conflict of interest.
“This is not a conflict of interest at all, it’s just a pure and simple enormous interest in keeping his father in office so that not only Hunter but Joe and the rest of the family can be pardoned for their crimes, and possibly Merrick Garland as well, for their involvement in the cover-up,” Howell said.
A representative for Hunter Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Biden’s meeting with families at Camp David came just days after his debate performance sparked anxiety among Democratic politicians and donors, who noted that he looked weak and feeble compared with former President Trump.
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrive aboard Marine One with granddaughters Natalie Biden, left, and Finnegan Biden, Saturday, June 29, 2024, in East Hampton, New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Biden has faced calls for him to drop out of the race ahead of November and let a younger candidate take over, with many questioning whether the president has the ability to defeat his biggest political opponent again.
Could Biden be removed from the Democratic Party nomination list?
A post-debate CBS News poll seemed to confirm those concerns: 45% of Democrats said the party should choose a different candidate. Worse yet, only 27% of registered voters overall believe Biden is mentally and cognitively healthy enough to serve as president, down from 35% in a previous pre-debate poll.
Meanwhile, Biden’s team has strongly opposed the idea of the president withdrawing, though some people close to the president have not ruled out the possibility, according to a New York Times report.
But what action the president takes will ultimately depend on discussions with him and his family, NBC News reported after the debate, citing senior Democratic sources.
President Biden at a debate in Atlanta last week. (Getty Images)
“The decision lies between the president and the first lady,” one of the people said. “Anyone who doesn’t understand how personal and familial this decision is doesn’t know what’s going on.”
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“The only person who has ultimate influence over him is the first lady,” another person added. “If she decides a change of policy is needed, a change of policy will be made.”
The Biden campaign and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
