Tiptoeing Around Hunter Biden
There’s no evidence the Bidens did anything improper in Ukraine. But there’s still the image of a son doing business overseas while his father was vice president.
Oct. 10, 2019, 6:08 p.m. ET
New York Times
It’s the one question about impeachment that no Democratic presidential candidate wants to answer head on.
Should Joe Biden’s son Hunter have been allowed to sit on the board of a foreign company while his father served as vice president?
In the past few weeks, Mr. Biden and his campaign team have spent significant amounts of time and energy denouncing any whiff of impropriety between his son’s work and his service as vice president.
They’re right: There is no evidence that Hunter Biden made millions of dollars from his overseas work or that his father intervened inappropriately with Ukraine or China on his behalf, as President Trump has falsely claimed.
But in politics, appearances matter. Just ask Hillary Clinton or Mr. Trump, or for that matter, anyone who has ever run for office.
At a moment when a populist, anti-establishment fervor runs through both parties, the image of Hunter Biden doing business in Ukraine and China while his father played a prominent role in American foreign policy could quickly become a political liability — a fact that clearly concerns Mr. Biden and his team, given their fierce efforts to denounce the story.
So far, none of the Democratic primary candidates have taken a hard swing at Mr. Biden, focusing instead on the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump. But a few are, quite delicately, trying to raise some concerns.
Former Representative Beto O’Rourke suggested, albeit mildly, that Hunter Biden’s work posed a problem, telling reporters, “I would not allow a family member, anyone in my cabinet to have a family member, to work in a position like that.”
Senator Cory Booker called Mr. Biden “truly an honorable man” on CNN last week, adding, “This is in no way can besmirch his character, his honor and his incredible service to this country over decades.”
But, he noted, “I just do not think that children of presidents, of vice presidents during an administration should be out there doing that.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar took a similar position when asked whether she’d be comfortable with the child of her vice president sitting on the board of a foreign company.
“I can promise you right now, my own daughter, who’s only 24, does not sit on the board of a foreign company,” she said, also on CNN. “But that is not the issue. The issue here is what the president is doing.”
Much of the rest of field has largely dodged the question.
Senator Elizabeth Warren initially said she didn’t know when asked whether her ethics plan would prevent a top official’s child from getting a job with a foreign company. Since then, she’s pivoted back to Mr. Trump when asked similar questions.
And Senator Kamala Harris, when asked about the issue, has taken to simply saying: “Leave Joe Biden alone.”
In past debates, candidates who have taken on Mr. Biden’s personal characteristics, like his age, have faced blowback. The questions surrounding his son may be even more sensitive: Democratic voters generally feel warmly toward “Uncle Joe,” particularly when it comes to his family, which has been deeply marked by the tragic deaths of his first wife and infant daughter and his elder son, Beau.
Echoing an attack introduced and continually leveraged — in false ways — by Mr. Trump could risk raising Democrats’ ire.
That doesn’t mean the question won’t be asked at the CNN/New York Times debate on Tuesday night. I don’t know what the questions will be, but my bet is on the topic coming up (Marc Lacey, if you’re listening…). Whether a candidate takes the gamble will be interesting to watch.
Oct. 10, 2019, 6:08 p.m. ET
New York Times
It’s the one question about impeachment that no Democratic presidential candidate wants to answer head on.
Should Joe Biden’s son Hunter have been allowed to sit on the board of a foreign company while his father served as vice president?
In the past few weeks, Mr. Biden and his campaign team have spent significant amounts of time and energy denouncing any whiff of impropriety between his son’s work and his service as vice president.
They’re right: There is no evidence that Hunter Biden made millions of dollars from his overseas work or that his father intervened inappropriately with Ukraine or China on his behalf, as President Trump has falsely claimed.
But in politics, appearances matter. Just ask Hillary Clinton or Mr. Trump, or for that matter, anyone who has ever run for office.
At a moment when a populist, anti-establishment fervor runs through both parties, the image of Hunter Biden doing business in Ukraine and China while his father played a prominent role in American foreign policy could quickly become a political liability — a fact that clearly concerns Mr. Biden and his team, given their fierce efforts to denounce the story.
So far, none of the Democratic primary candidates have taken a hard swing at Mr. Biden, focusing instead on the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump. But a few are, quite delicately, trying to raise some concerns.
Former Representative Beto O’Rourke suggested, albeit mildly, that Hunter Biden’s work posed a problem, telling reporters, “I would not allow a family member, anyone in my cabinet to have a family member, to work in a position like that.”
Senator Cory Booker called Mr. Biden “truly an honorable man” on CNN last week, adding, “This is in no way can besmirch his character, his honor and his incredible service to this country over decades.”
But, he noted, “I just do not think that children of presidents, of vice presidents during an administration should be out there doing that.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar took a similar position when asked whether she’d be comfortable with the child of her vice president sitting on the board of a foreign company.
“I can promise you right now, my own daughter, who’s only 24, does not sit on the board of a foreign company,” she said, also on CNN. “But that is not the issue. The issue here is what the president is doing.”
Much of the rest of field has largely dodged the question.
Senator Elizabeth Warren initially said she didn’t know when asked whether her ethics plan would prevent a top official’s child from getting a job with a foreign company. Since then, she’s pivoted back to Mr. Trump when asked similar questions.
And Senator Kamala Harris, when asked about the issue, has taken to simply saying: “Leave Joe Biden alone.”
In past debates, candidates who have taken on Mr. Biden’s personal characteristics, like his age, have faced blowback. The questions surrounding his son may be even more sensitive: Democratic voters generally feel warmly toward “Uncle Joe,” particularly when it comes to his family, which has been deeply marked by the tragic deaths of his first wife and infant daughter and his elder son, Beau.
Echoing an attack introduced and continually leveraged — in false ways — by Mr. Trump could risk raising Democrats’ ire.
That doesn’t mean the question won’t be asked at the CNN/New York Times debate on Tuesday night. I don’t know what the questions will be, but my bet is on the topic coming up (Marc Lacey, if you’re listening…). Whether a candidate takes the gamble will be interesting to watch.
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