Hunter Biden (left) and Joe Biden.Photo: Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images
PresidentJoe Bidensaid his son Hunter Biden’supcoming memoirgave him hope that his “boy is back.”
In an interview withCBS News' Norah O’Donnell on Sunday, Biden, 78, choked up while discussing Hunter’s memoirBeautiful Things, in which the president’s son, 51, opens up about his struggles with and recovery from drugs and alcohol.
“You know, I’ll bet there’s not a family you know that doesn’t have somebody in the family that had a drug problem or an alcohol problem,” the president said.
The president told O’Donnell, 47, that Hunter’s openness about his struggles in the memoir had a profound impact on him. “The honesty with which he stepped forward and talked about the problem and the hope that it gave me hope reading it,” the former vice president said.
“It was like my boy is back… you know what I mean?” Biden continued as he began to get emotional.
“Anyway, I’m sorry to get personal,” he told O’Donnell.
Joe Biden.CBS
The president also acknowledged that while his son has had a long journey of substance abuse, “He’s fixed it, he’s worked on it.”
“I’m proud of him,” he said. “I’m proud of my son.”
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Hunter, who has no official involvement in the White House and did not work on his father’s presidential campaign, has talked multiple times in recent years about past business dealings and parts of his personal life, including his addiction and recovery and the shadow of older brotherBeau’s2015 death from brain cancer.
Hunter Biden.Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images
In his candidseries of interviews withThe New Yorkerin 2019, Hunter gotpersonalabout his problems, calling his addiction a “darkness.” He also spoke of his father’s unfailing support.
“I was in that tunnel — it’s a never-ending tunnel. You don’t get rid of it. You figure out how to deal with it,” he told the magazine.
Hunter also opened up about his many attempts to get sober, tellingThe New Yorkerhe had entered treatment programs multiple times, first relapsing in November 2010 before going to rehab programs and continuing the cycle for several more years.
Hunter Biden speaking at a World Food Program USA Board event in April.Paul Morigi/Getty Images
“Hunter Biden proves again that anybody — even the son of a United States President — can take a ride on the pink horse down nightmare alley,” King wrote. “Biden remembers it all and tells it all with a bravery that is both heartbreaking and quite gorgeous. He starts with a question: Where’s Hunter? The answer is he’s in this book, the good, the bad, and the beautiful.”
In their own statement regarding Hunter’s release, the president and First Lady Dr.Jill Bidensaid, according to the AP: “We admire our son Hunter’s strength and courage to talk openly about his addiction so that others might see themselves in his journey and find hope.”
source: people.com
