Republicans have an obsession with President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. This week, Hunter Biden penned an essay published in USA Today, breaking down the ways in which the GOP’s treatment of him is dangerous for many Americans.
Republicans and conservative news outlets can’t get enough of dragging Hunter Biden through the mud. Instead of covering the real and very serious legal issues surrounding Donald Trump, the GOP focuses all its ire on Hunter Biden. They have inflated claims that Biden’s laptop contained government secrets he was selling and other evidence he was involved in heinous crimes. None of that has panned out for them so now they resort to showing revenge porn of Biden during proceedings in the House of Representatives.
The vast majority of the GOP and right-wing media’s attacks on Biden have been centered on the years he struggled with addiction to alcohol and drugs. In his essay, Biden points out why this smear campaign isn’t just an attack on him but is dangerous for many Americans. There are so many people out there facing the same addiction issues. Seeing Biden’s woes paraded constantly across media outlets, framed with scorn and mockery, is not going to help people want to get sober.
Addiction is not a partisan issue
In the essay, Biden takes responsibility for his poor choices while under the influence. He also states several times that he not only comes from a place of privilege but has a very understanding and supportive family. Yet he is constantly berated by Republicans for his actions.
“The weaponization of my addiction by partisan and craven factions represents a real threat to those desperate to get sober but are afraid of what may await them if they do,” Biden says. Biden makes the very accurate assessment that if he, the son of a sitting president, is publicly shamed for admitting to his addictions, then other less privileged people may feel they have no hope of maintaining a normal life when they seek help for their addictions.
“It is already a near-impossible decision for addicts to get sober, and the avalanche of negativity and assault of my personal privacy may only make it harder for those considering it,” Biden writes.
The public derision Republicans have hurled at Biden undermines the important work so many people have done and continue to do to revolutionize the landscape of addiction and recovery. He writes:
“The science of addiction and recovery has made great strides in just the past decade. However, far too few will ever experience the miracle of recovery unless we change the stigma around addiction. For those of us who live in recovery and for those who love someone in recovery, we know how hard fought our newfound lives are in letting go of the shame and making amends.”
Biden implores people to remember that public shaming of people who struggle with addiction doesn’t just hurt the person, it hurts their families. Parents, children, and friends must sit through seeing attacks on their loved ones. Biden was brave to write the essay and point out the failings of so many people in power. At the end of the essay, he write:
“The effort of recovery is something that should be celebrated, and I hope that despite my role as the punchline and punching bag for some, others will also make the effort I have made, one day at a time, and get honest with themselves and the people who love and rely upon them. The effort is worth it. You are worth it. I am living proof of that.”
Hunter Biden, unlike most of the Republican party, is trying to act with decency, as an adult should.
(via USA Today, featured image: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
