Former NBC News anchor Chuck Todd is calling out media outlets for giving Hunter Biden a platform, labeling him a hazard to himself and the Democratic Party. Democrats, grappling with their 2024 election defeat, largely agree that the Bidens should step back from public life. Hunter Biden recently garnered attention for his appearances on Andrew Callaghan’s “Channel 5” podcast and former DNC chair Jaime Harrison’s “At Our Table” podcast, where he defended his father and criticized his detractors.
On his own podcast, Todd declared, “I will never book Hunter Biden.” He explained his reasoning: “He’s not the candidate. He wasn’t on the ballot. Anything he says in defense of his father, I don’t know whether it’s true or not, but it doesn’t matter. He’s a son defending his father.”
Hunter Biden and his father have faced criticism for remaining in the public eye after the Democratic Party’s defeat in November.
Todd expressed strong disapproval of media figures who book Hunter Biden. “I have a real problem with the folks that are booking him,” he stated. “If you’ve chosen to book Hunter Biden, you’ve chosen to book spectacle. You’re not interested in — and you know, the two interviews that have gone viral were both designed to get attention, not to surface new facts, not to give you a better understanding of what may have happened. It was just, ‘Let’s give him a platform to settle some scores that maybe he wants to settle.'”
He continued, “I don’t think this does Hunter Biden any good. I don’t think this does Joe Biden any good. It certainly doesn’t do the Democratic Party any good. That’s why it’s surprising to see the former DNC chair start a podcast and decide that the best way to market it is Hunter Biden.”
“It’s a choice who you book,” Todd argued. “I make choices. Everybody makes choices. It’s a choice who you book. If you’re putting Hunter Biden on, you know what you’re doing.”
Hunter Biden has voiced criticism toward actor George Clooney.
“I don’t like it when politicians use the media or campaigns or voters for their own therapy,” Todd added. “Let’s not do it in public. Try to deal with your issues amongst yourself.”
“This is ultimately why I was critical of Joe and Joe Biden for running in the first place, because their family wasn’t ready for this,” he said. “And I think Hunter Biden’s behavior now post-election is more proof the family wasn’t in a position… this is why running for president can do major damage to a candidate’s family.”
Todd pointed to the family’s struggles, particularly President Biden’s grief after the death of his son Beau in 2015, suggesting the family did not take adequate time to recover before launching the 2020 presidential campaign.
Hunter Biden’s controversies were a significant point of criticism against President Joe Biden.
Todd recalled a time when the Bidens appeared to balance public service and family support effectively. “But that was a family in crisis internally,” he said, implying a shift in their situation.
