Federal criminal charges filed against Hunter Biden in Delaware and California have divided Americans along familiar partisan lines, but voters are not surprised — and in some cases pleased — that President Joe Biden is supporting his adult son as he fights to avoid prison.
That’s the main conclusion from a series of interviews conducted by USA Today as Hunter Biden prepares to go on trial Monday on charges that he perjured himself by using drugs to buy a gun. The case is set to go before a jury in Wilmington, Delaware, just weeks before Biden faces off against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in the first presidential debate in Atlanta.
With the plea deal falling through, Hunter Biden, 54, is also facing nine tax-related charges in Los Angeles that carry a combined maximum sentence of 17 years in prison. The trial is set to begin on September 5, five days before Joe Biden and Trump are scheduled to face off in the next presidential debate.
“On the one hand, what’s a dad supposed to do?” said Thomas Brown, 46, an independent from Long Beach, Calif. “On the other hand, he’s the commander in chief. He’s the most important position on the planet, and that’s why we have laws.”
Acknowledging the politics surrounding the case, Hunter Biden’s legal team has proposed asking potential Delaware jurors how closely they are following the 2024 presidential election, how they feel about President Biden and his record of success, and how closely they are following news about Trump.
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Twelve Delaware residents will serve as jurors to decide whether to convict Hunter Biden in his upcoming trial, and voting-age citizens across the country will have the opportunity to decide his father’s fate in the presidential election.
more:As Trump’s trial nears end, Bidens prepare for month of legal purgatory
“What any parent would do for their child”
Trump has rarely spoken about his son’s issues, but Joe Biden defended him during a 2020 presidential debate when Trump raised Hunter Biden’s drug use.
“My son, like a lot of people, a lot of people that you know, had a drug problem,” Biden said. “He’s overcome it, he’s worked through it, he’s worked through it, and I’m proud of him.”
Hunter Biden’s drug addiction has been a long-running issue for the president, and three Biden advisers recently told Politico that the president is concerned about the pressure the trial will place on him and that he worries about his son “from the moment he wakes up in the morning until the moment he goes to bed.”
The Biden campaign declined to comment, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
Some of the president’s supporters find his devotion to his family admirable and relatable. Carol Vásquez, 74, an independent congresswoman from St. Louis, Missouri, said she thinks the president is a “great parent” and “good family man” because he supports his son.
“That’s the type of person you want in a president: a person of integrity and honesty,” Vázquez said. “No matter how old they are or how old you are, they’re always your children. When you have children, they’re yours.”
But Republicans and President Trump, whose jury on Thursday convicted him in a hush-money and election interference case, are likely to use Hunter Biden’s lawsuit to attack the president and his family.
But even among those who don’t agree with the president’s politics, his defense of his son does not seem to make him any less likable.
“I think that’s what any parent would do for their child,” said Jane DeMecourt, 67, an independent from Abita Springs, Louisiana, who plans to vote for Trump in November.
Political motivation is “not a coincidence”
Half of Americans believe Hunter Biden received favorable treatment from prosecutors because he is the president’s son, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last summer, with Republicans (75%) far more likely to say so than independents (42%) or Democrats (33%).
Hunter Biden has said the few gun-related charges brought against him are politically motivated and accused Republicans of weaponizing his past drug addiction to attack his father during his contentious election.
Deanne Robinson, 56, a Democrat from St. Petersburg, Florida, agreed. She plans to vote for Biden in November.
“This is not a coincidence. This is a ploy to link Joe to Hunter as if Joe is guilty of these crimes,” Robinson said. “But if he is found guilty, I believe justice should be served.”
Mike McCombs, 67, a Republican from Lincolnton, Georgia, said following Trump’s six-week trial in Manhattan that he believes Hunter Biden’s trial is an attempt to retaliate against the president’s family. He plans to vote for Trump in November.
“I think he and his whole family have had their comeuppance,” McCombs said. “The political realities have caught up with them. They’ve been trying to put Trump in prison for a long time, but they’ve done a lot worse.”
Trump has repeatedly alleged that his presidential opponent committed fraud in the New York trial, which was brought by state prosecutors and not overseen by the Biden administration.
Brown said he believes the trial of Trump and Hunter Biden is politically motivated and a “mockery” for the justice system. He said he doesn’t like either major party candidate and doesn’t plan to vote in November’s presidential election.
“I thought [Trump] “He should have been impeached, but frankly, as far as I’m concerned, this prosecution in New York is the very definition of a political prosecution,” Brown said. “The same goes for Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden is a scumbag. The idea that the president’s kid is a scumbag is not surprising, but it’s another definition of a political prosecution.”
Court cases unlikely to change voters’ minds
A poll conducted last summer found that a majority of people said Hunter Biden’s indictment would not affect whether they would support his father in 2024. Voters across the political spectrum say Hunter Biden’s trial won’t change how they vote in November, and some don’t plan to watch the trial at all.
“This is not something I’m focusing on. It doesn’t change the way I think about the direction of this country and it certainly doesn’t change my vote,” said Demecourt, from Louisiana, adding that she is more focused on Trump securing the southern US border. “I think this is just a media distraction from what’s really going on, because there are really, really important issues in this country.”
Vásquez said he will pay attention to coverage of the trial but that it won’t affect his vote for Biden in the fall.
“Whatever they do, they’re adults, so I don’t think it’s going to affect my vote,” Vasquez said. “I hope it doesn’t affect anyone else.”
Robinson said what she learned in court was unlikely to change her mind about voting for Biden in November’s presidential election, but that could change depending on how the president responded.
“If he criticizes my son, I’m not going to go to the polls,” Robinson said. “Parents should stand by their kids and help them through difficult times.”
Rachel Barber is a USA TODAY 2024 Election Fellow focusing on politics and education. Follow her on Twitter as @rachelbarber_.
