Problematic first children who faced legal trouble: From Jenna and Barbara Bush to Hunter Biden
Problematic first children who've made headlines over the decades
Though Hunter Biden may be the first presidential child to face legal action in a federal court, he is not the first to cause controversy. A 12-person jury in Wilmington, Delaware, found him guilty on Tuesday, June 11, of lying about his drug usage on a form when he bought a gun in October 2018. During the trial, the court heard a detailed account of his addiction. The conduct of children of American presidents has been a source of controversy throughout the country's roughly 250-year history. Let us take a look at some of the problematic first children who've made headlines over the decades.
1. The rebellious Amy Carter
Even though Amy Carter's father, former President Jimmy Carter, was in the White House when she was a child, she was well-known for being a disobedient First child. Carter participated in political protests in the late 1980s and early 1990s, some of which resulted in confrontations with the authorities. Carter was once detained at a Washington, DC, anti-apartheid march when she was 17 years old. During an anti-CIA protest in 1987, she was detained once more. Then, Carter was instructed not to return to Brown University during her second year when she neglected to turn in her assignments.
2. George W Bush's twin daughters
When Jenna and Barbara Bush were freshmen at Yale and the University of Texas, respectively, they both got into trouble for drinking alcohol in the early 2000s. Jenna was cited for two alleged underage drinking events, one of which involved her sister. The two later expressed their humiliation over the incidents, with Jenna admitting that she had been naive given that her father, George W Bush, was president at the time.
3. Theodore Roosevelt's unconventional daughter Alice
![Alice Roosevelt Longworth, between circa 1890 and circa 1910. Full length portrait, seated in wicker chair, facing right. [Daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt and his first wife Alice Hathaway Lee]. Artist Frances Benjamin Johnston. (Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images)](http://d2r3ijz46v2k0u.cloudfront.net/64cbede6-9dc0-4cf7-9656-830758ee1bc8.jpg)
The daughter of Theodore Roosevelt smoked and used slang in public. That might not seem like a big deal by today's standards, but it might have caused quite a stir in the early 1900s. Alice carried her pet snake to parties and frequently attended horse races, where she also placed bets. She buried a voodoo doll of new President William Howard Taft's wife Nellie in the White House front yard when her father was leaving office; this action resulted in her being banned from Washington, DC.
4. The controversial Donald Trump Jr
Donald Trump's son Donald Trump Jr was accused of cooperating with Russia as part of their efforts to meddle in the 2016 election. He supposedly had a meeting with a Russian attorney who promised to give him damaging information about Hilary Clinton, Trump's 2016 rival. Trump Jr supported his father's baseless accusations that the 2020 election was rigged after it was completed, even going so far as to demand a 'total war' over the outcome.
5. Hunter Biden's drug addiction
Jeffrey A Engel, the founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, told Newsweek that unlike decades before, Hunter Biden's drug addiction has largely garnered acceptance and sympathy. Engel said, "The kind of scandal that would have proved scandalous in one era would provoke sympathy and empathy in another." Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury of lying about his illegal drug use to buy a gun in October 2018 and could face up to 25 years in prison.
