White House aides were reportedly told not to say the actual number of grandchildren President Joe Biden has, having been instructed to omit the child Hunter Biden had out of wedlock.
Aides were advised in strategy meetings to publicly say Biden has six grandchildren — not seven, The New York Times reported, citing two people familiar.
The White House has been notoriously tight-lipped about Hunter Biden’s child Navy Joan Roberts, who he fathered with a former stripper. The president has repeatedly maintained that he has six grandchildren — stressing the specific number — while discussing his close relationship with them. The White House has also excluded the four-year-old from the annual Christmas stocking decorations, and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said she would not speak about the grandchild from the podium. (RELATED: Mother Of Hunter Biden’s Disowned Child Speaks Out Of Settlement)
US President-elect Joe Biden stands with grandson and son Hunter Biden after delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 7, 2020, after being declared the winners of the presidential election. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Hunter Biden has been embroiled in a years-long legal dispute with Lunden Roberts, Navy’s mother. The parents settled their case Thursday, with the president’s son offering to give his daughter some of his paintings while securing a reported reduction in child support payments.
Despite the Bidens having little to no contact with Navy Joan Roberts, she is aware and “proud” of the paternal side of her family, Lunden Roberts reportedly said.
“She’s very proud of who her grandfather is and who her dad is,” Roberts said, according to the Times.
The president once became irate when pressed about the existence of his granddaughter.
“I’m wondering if you have a comment on this report, and court filing, out of Arkansas that your son Hunter just made you a grandfather again,” Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked in 2019.
“No, that’s a private matter and I have no comment,” Biden said.
“Only you would ask that,” Biden continued, adding sarcastically, “You’re a good man. You’re a good man. Classy.”