President Joe Biden spoke publicly about his four-year-old granddaughter—Hunter Biden’s daughter—for the first time in a statement given exclusively to People magazine, saying it’s “not a political issue” and he wants what’s best for all of his grandchildren, “including Navy.”
President Joe Biden speaks at Auburn Manufacturing Inc., in Auburn, Maine, Friday, July 28, 2023. On ... [+]
The president hadn’t previously acknowledged his granddaughter—Navy Roberts, who is the child of Hunter Biden and Lunden Roberts—and had been criticized in the past for saying he had six grandchildren, not seven, despite branding himself as a family man.
Hunter Biden and Roberts ended a yearslong court battle about child support in June, reportedly settling on terms that Biden would pay monthly child support and give his daughter some of his paintings, a number of which have been offered at $500,000, according to the New York Times.
Like the president, Hunter Biden has also rarely, if ever, acknowledged his daughter’s existence and wrote in his memoir he had no recollection of having an affair with Roberts because of his alcohol and drug addiction.
“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," Biden said in a statement to People.
A DNA test in 2019 proved that Hunter Biden was the now-four-year-old’s biological father and led to the court battle that wrapped up last month in Arkansas. Roberts initially filed a paternity suit against Biden after he refused to acknowledge their child, and it was reopened in September when Biden asked Independence County Circuit Judge Holly Meyer to reduce his monthly payments because of a “substantial material change in (his) financial circumstances.” Roberts disputed the request and her lawyers claimed Biden was downplaying his financial hardship while “living lavishly.” In May, Biden’s attorney revealed he had paid $20,000 a month—totaling $750,000—to support his daughter, multiple outlets reported.
In late May, President Biden incorrectly said he had four granddaughters—despite having five— at a White House event welcoming the NCAA-championship-winning LSU women’s basketball team. Biden didn’t name the granddaughters, so it’s unclear if he was intending to leave Navy out, though it was viewed as a major gaffe from the 80-year-old as critics attacks around his age have increased.