Analysis: Hunter Biden’s convictions on gun charges will offer his father’s presidential election campaign some unusual upsides, writes Q+A presenter Jack Tame.
Family has always been central to US President Joe Biden’s story.
In 1972, his first wife and baby daughter were killed in a car accident just weeks after his election to the US Senate. His young sons, Beau and Hunter, were severely injured. It was a tragedy so profound that many expected him to give up on politics altogether.
Then, in 2013, during Biden’s second term as vice-President, his son Beau was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Biden had been planning on running for President in 2016 but his son’s diagnosis left him uncertain, despite Beau’s urging.
“At one point he said it was my obligation to run, my duty,” Biden said afterwards.
In 2015, Beau Biden died. Joe Biden delayed his candidacy and Donald Trump was elected President.
Now, Hunter Biden’s felony convictions for lying about his drug addiction when buying a handgun mark yet another notch in the Biden’s family’s painful history.
In almost any other circumstance, a US presidential candidate’s child being convicted of a felony crime in the run up to an election would be a significant blow to the campaign’s chances.
But in the strange context of the 2024 election, Hunter Biden’s convictions may have the opposite effect.
By accepting the jury’s decision and the court’s ruling this week, Joe Biden immediately contrasted his respect for the US justice system and the rule of law with the attitude of his opponent.
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Fresh from his own criminal trial over hush money payments, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has claimed his 34 felony convictions are “rigged” and “a scam”.
If Biden is accused of weaponising the justice system against his opponent during this election campaign, he can accurately point out the same justice system has also convicted his felon son. What’s more, Joe Biden has ruled out issuing Hunter a presidential pardon.
But the peculiar upsides to Hunter Biden’s convictions – at least from the perspective of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign - extend beyond the respect for judicial processes and norms.
Many Americans, especially working-class Americans, can personally relate to the devastation wrought upon families by drug addiction. Hunter Biden’s relationship to the sitting president might make him unique but his addiction certainly does not.
Joe Biden has proven adept at referencing his family’s experiences in publicly defining his leadership during election campaigns.
I distinctly remember a moment in the 2012 vice-presidential debate when Biden was facing huge pressure to restore momentum to the Democrats’ lagging campaign. He talked about his first wife and daughter. He talked about tragedy. He talked about resilience. Millions of voters were reminded of the pain and trauma his family had endured.
There will be similar opportunities in the next few months. Openly discussing his son’s addiction battles and subsequent convictions might impress upon voters the basic respect and grace that contrast Joe Biden so starkly with his opponent.
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