President Joe Biden acknowledged his seventh grandchild publicly for the first time on Friday, Hunter’s four-year-old daughter, Navy.
In a statement shared with ABC News, the president stated, “Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward.”
“This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter. Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy,” the statement continued.
A source familiar with the situation tells ABC News that President Biden and the First Lady have been “following Hunter’s lead” on this situation, trying to give him space to figure out the situation as the legal proceedings played out.
According to The Associated Press, last month Hunter Biden settled a child support case with the four-year-old’s mother, Lunden Roberts. Hunter Biden’s paternity was established by DNA testing after Roberts sued for child support, and the two parties recently resolved outstanding child support issues, according to the AP.
Hunter Biden has been transparent about his struggles with substance abuse, in which he has sought treatment for more than seven times. It was a positive test for cocaine that got him discharged from the Naval Reserves in 2014.
In Hunter Biden’s 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” he reflected about his time with Lunden, “I had no recollection of our encounter,” he continued, “That’s how little connection I had with anyone. I was a mess, but a mess I’ve taken responsibility for.”
Hunter Biden has four other kids, three adult children with whom he welcomed with ex-wife Kathleen Buhle and his youngest son, Beau Biden Jr., whom he welcomed with current wife Melissa Cohen in 2020.
Cohen and Hunter Biden married in May 2019 in Los Angeles, California, just six days after meeting. Speaking with ABC News exclusively, Hunter Biden said five months after the marriage, “I instantly fell in love with her. And then I’ve fallen in love with her more every day.”
The couple met through a friend of hers, who wrote Melissa’s phone number onto Hunter’s hand and insisted he call her. Hunter got a “shalom” tattoo to match Melissa’s within days of meeting her and they were married at her apartment less than a week later; neither had their families in attendance and the wedding photos were taken by a friend on a cellphone.
Beau Jr. is named after Hunter Biden’s late brother who died in 2015 after losing his battle with brain cancer at the age of 46.
There have been a series of tragedies in Hunter’s life, in 1972, when he was two years old, his mother, Neilia, and his sister, Naomi, were killed in a car crash. He and Beau were also in the vehicle and were severely injured.
The statement from Biden was first released to People Magazine on Friday.
Source: abc news
