Who is exploiting whom? That was the question New York Post columnist Miranda Devine raised earlier this summer during a conversation with Megyn about the Biden family corruption schemes. While it has long been painted as though Hunter Biden is the troublesome addict and Joe Biden is the loving father, Devine posited that the president has been exploiting his family – not the other way around.
On Monday’s show, Megyn was joined by Nicholas Kardaras, PhD, an addiction expert and author of Digital Madness, to discuss what the first son has said about his ongoing struggles with addiction and how President Biden has been “irresponsible” as both a father and elected official.
Hunter Biden’s History of Addiction
Hunter has not shied away from telling the story of his addiction to alcohol and drugs. He outlined his recovery journey in his memoir, Beautiful Things, and he more recently disclosed his history of substance abuse as part of the proposed plea deal for tax evasion and gun charges that fell apart late last month.
In early August, U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika, who presided over the plea hearing, released documents that offer detailed accounts of the cases surrounding the criminal charges. They blame Hunter’s conduct on his drug and alcohol addiction. “Following the death of his brother in 2015, [Hunter] relapsed and over time progressed from alcohol to abusing illegal drugs, including crack cocaine in 2016,” the joint filing says.
The situation apparently became worse in 2018. The first son described a “spring and summer of nonstop debauchery” and confirmed he was also using cocaine when he bought a revolver that October and answered ‘no’ to the question on the federally mandated forms about the use of illegal narcotics.
Hunter has also admitted that he’s gone to rehab six times in the last 20 years, in addition to several outpatient facilities. He was busted for cocaine possession at age 18, though it was taken off his record due to a pre-trial intervention. Things apparently got particularly bad for Hunter around 2010, which coincided with when his father became vice president.
‘Irresponsible’ Joe Biden
All of this led Megyn to question President Biden’s motives. “This is a severe addict,” she said. “Just having [Hunter] lay out, once again, the scope of his addiction and how out of control it was during all the years… underscored how grossly irresponsible Joe Biden has been irrespective of whether they prove a bribe or all the rest of it. What responsible parent would do that?”
Kardaras said the elder Biden has been “irresponsible” as both a father and a vice president. “The narrative from the mainstream media is that ‘poor Hunter’s got these issues but they’re divorced from Joe; Joe’s just the poor loving father who happens to have an addicted son,’” he said. “And yet… the more you drill down into it in terms of the timeline… it feels like in spite of the fact that Hunter was severely addicted, his father was sending him out on these high stress missions.”
In his view, President Biden is not “the grieving father” but rather the “exploitative father who is manipulating a not very well son.” While Hunter must take “personal responsibility” for his “recovery and treatment,” Kardaras said the onus was on Joe as the “clear-thinking one” in the relationship to keep him away from situations that might set back his sobriety. “[Hunter] has had several attempts at rehab over a couple of decades, but his father keeps putting him back in the firing line,” he asked.
Based on what we know about Hunter’s recovery, it would seem as though he was engaging in some of his more controversial business dealings on the heels of treatment. “We talk about addicts in early recovery slowly getting back into the workforce – the normal workforce much less these black ops that he’s doing,” Kardaras noted.
He offered the example of a parents who put their alcoholic son to work behind the bar at their restaurant on the day he gets out of rehab “not understanding that they are going to be triggers and that we should try to be more compassionate about helping them have a softer, gentler landing back into the the sober world.” Kardaras said President Biden did not seem “concerned” about sending his son on “overseas missions right out of treatment.”
Supporting a Loved One in Recovery
As someone who has experienced addiction in her own family, Megyn said loved ones are usually “constantly on edge” throughout the recovery process. “You’re very worried that the person is going to return to active addiction, you’re worried about the person finding a stable, honest living, and most of us would work to support a stable, honest living of said family member,” she shared.
That’s what makes Joe Biden’s behavior so confounding. “The last thing you would do is allow this person to be dealing with the Ukrainians, and the Chinese, and the Romanians, and the Russians while you have such a sensitive position as the sitting vice president,” she concluded. “Not to mention you’re bringing classified documents back to your home where he is in Delaware and elsewhere.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Kardaras by tuning in to episode 611 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.