Joe Biden has publicly admitted that he has a seventh grandchild for the first time – after his son Hunter settled a long-running child support case.
The US President finally acknowledged the existence of his grandaughter Navy, aged 4, in a statement to People Magazine on Friday. He said: “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 sitting POTUS said his son Hunter is now liaising with the child’s mother in a bid to forge a relationship that is “in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward”. Back in April, speaking at an event at the White House, Biden apparently snubbed Navy by stating he only had six grandchildren.
He said that he was “crazy” about his six grandchildren, adding that he spoke to them every day. Republicans and Democrats alike have criticised the president for failing to acknowledge his seventh grandchild.
His son Hunter, 53, fathered Navy with Arkansas woman, Lunden Roberts, 32, in 2018. Paternity was established by DNA testing after Ms Roberts sued for child support.
Biden Jr wrote about his encounter with Ms Roberts in his 2021 memoir. He said it happened while he was addicted to alcohol and drugs, including crack cocaine.
“I had no recollection of our encounter,” he wrote. “That’s how little connection I had with anyone. I was a mess, but a mess I’ve taken responsibility for.”
The Telegraph reports that an attorney for Ms Roberts “did not immediately respond to a request for comment”. Biden Jr has four other children.
He has been embroiled in controversy centring around the alleged contents of his laptops. Ealeiort this year, a Republican report claimed that the CIA was deeply involved in gathering signatures of support for the letter from 51 intelligence officials dismissing Hunter Biden’s laptop as disinformation.
More than 50 intel officials signed the letter in 2020, in which it was incorrectly claimed that Hunter Biden’s laptop had all the “classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
