Joe Biden’s controversial son Hunter was by his side on Saturday night as the president-elect thanked America for sending him back to the White House.
Hunter, 50, appeared on stage after his father finished speaking, carrying his seven-month-old son, reportedly named Beau, after his late brother.
He was accompanied by his South African-born wife Melissa, 34, who he married in May 2019 – six days after they met.
Hunter’s presence on stage caused surprise: the businessman has not been seen in public in months, and has been lying low amid a frenzy of speculation about his business dealings.
He was seen in June with Melissa, taking their son on a hike in the hills surrounding Los Angeles, where they live. In August he appeared via videolink at the DNC. But he has deliberately avoided the spotlight during the campaign.
Joe Biden has always defended him, insisting when Donald Trump repeatedly made accusations about corruption in the family that he was running against Trump, not his children.
He described Hunter as ‘the finest man I know’.
Yet Biden’s aides were infuriated by the steady stream of stories that emerged, implicating Hunter in dubious business dealings.
It also contained records of his emails, which the Trump campaign said proved that Joe Biden knew about Hunter’s business dealings in China and Ukraine, and indeed stood to profit from them.
The evidence, however, was inconclusive.
That did not stop the Trump campaign from making ‘Hunter’s emails’ and ‘where’s Hunter?’ a rallying cry, oft repeated at his events.
Hunter’s public embrace with his father suggests that all is forgiven, and that the son can attempt to redeem himself.
Hunter has promised that he will not conduct any international business while his father is in the White House.