Jill Biden regrets staying silent on Hunter Biden’s addiction: 'I think we were partly in denial'

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former first lady Jill Biden says she regrets not speaking more openly about her son Hunter Biden’s struggles with addiction while she was in the White House, saying she now believes sharing his story could help others facing similar challenges.

Speaking during a wide-ranging interview with 'The View' co-host Whoopi Goldberg at New York’s 92nd Street Y, Biden reflected on her family’s experience with addiction while promoting her new memoir, 'View from the East Wing.' The event took place just hours after the book’s publication.

Jill Biden discusses Hunter Biden’s addiction battle

In her memoir, Biden acknowledges that addiction was rarely discussed within the family. “I think we were partly in denial," she wrote.

She said she often struggled to understand why someone with the support of a loving family, a strong education, and a successful career would become addicted to illicit substances.

“It’s hard for me to say this, but Hunter was an addict," Biden said candidly on stage, as quoted by the Associated Press. She described Hunter’s descent into addiction as “a really hard time for our family to go through.”

Hunter’s substance abuse issues began after the 2015 death of his older brother, Beau, who died from an aggressive form of brain cancer. According to Jill, Hunter has now been sober for several years.

Reflecting on her own silence during those years, she said, “I'm sorry that I didn't talk about it a little bit more.” Now, she hopes speaking publicly about the experience can help others.

Jill said she is proud of Hunter for rebuilding his life, pursuing a career as an artist, and supporting people in addiction recovery.

“And I hope that by talking about it more as I go forward, I hope that it offers other people hope,” she said. “It is such a tough, tough thing to deal with.” Hunter previously detailed his own battles with alcohol in a memoir published in 2021.

Jill Biden defends Hunter Biden pardon

The former first lady also addressed the legal troubles that stemmed from Hunter’s addiction. 

His substance abuse became central to a federal case in which he was accused of lying about his addiction use on paperwork used to purchase a firearm. Hunter was convicted after a trial and faced the possibility of prison time.

Despite repeatedly stating that he would not use presidential powers to shield his son, Joe Biden ultimately pardoned Hunter shortly before leaving office and handing power to Donald Trump.

In a separate interview with CBS News, Jill Biden defended both her son and the controversial pardon.

“The Justice Department changed, and the process was not fair to Hunter,” she insisted. “When Trump was elected, things changed, and we knew that he would target Hunter. And we just could not let our son go to jail on a charge that no one would go, I mean, no one has ever gone to jail for.”

When asked whether she personally encouraged her husband to issue the pardon, Jill stopped short of saying she pushed him to do so. However, she made clear that she supported the decision.

“Oh gosh, I truly supported it. I wanted him to pardon Hunter at that point, and I agreed with Joe,” she said.