President Joe Biden has revealed that Hunter Biden's upcoming book has given him hope that his 'boy's back'.
In an interview with CBS News that will air ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday, the president said: 'The honesty with which he stepped forward and talked about the problem. And the hope that — it gave me hope reading it.'
He was referring to Hunter's book called Beautiful Things that will center on his well publicized struggles with substance abuse. Hunter, who turned 51 on Thursday, was discharged from the Navy Reserve in 2014 after a positive test for cocaine.
The president also said that Hunter's story is one that other Americans can relate to.
President Joe Biden (pictured) has revealed that Hunter Biden's book has given him hope that his 'boy's back' when he started reading it
In an interview with CBS News that will air ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday, the president said: 'The honesty with which he stepped forward and talked about the problem. And the hope that — it gave me hope reading it.' The Bidens are pictured at inauguration on January 20, 2021
'You know, I'll bet there's not a family you know that doesn't have somebody in the family that had a drug problem or an alcohol problem,' Biden said.
Hunter, who has been ongoing target for conservatives, is set to release his memoir on April 6, according to Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
Acquired in the fall of 2019, Beautiful Things was kept under wraps even as Biden's business dealings became a fixation of then-President Donald Trump and others during the election and his finances a matter of investigation by the Justice Department.
In a snippet released by Gallery, Biden writes in his book: 'I come from a family forged by tragedies and bound by a remarkable, unbreakable love.'
Last week, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary avoided answering whether the book was subject to government clearance.
Biden and the White House have promised that his family would not benefit from his administration, and already Vice President Kamala Harris' niece Maya Harris' has been warned against further moves to cash in on her family name, which have included a book about her aunt and a clothing range.
Asked about Maya Harris last week, Psaki said: 'It's the White House's policy that the president's name should not be used in connection with any commercial activities to suggest or in any way, in any way they could reasonably be understood to imply his endorsement or support.'
But Thursday she changed tone on Hunter, reading the statement, from the Bidens which said: 'We admire our son Hunter's strength and courage to talk openly about his addiction so that others might see themselves in his journey and find hope.
'This is a personal book about his personal struggle.'
During one of last fall's presidential debates, Joe Biden defended his son from attacks by Trump.
Hunter, who has been ongoing target for conservatives, is set to release his memoir on April 6, according to Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
'My son, like a lot of people, like a lot of people you know at home, had a drug problem,' the Democratic candidate said at the time. 'He's overtaken it. He's fixed it. He's worked on it, and I'm proud of him. I'm proud of my son.'
Hunter is the oldest surviving child of the president, who lost his first wife and 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, in a 1972 car accident, and son Beau Biden to brain cancer in 2015.
The title of Hunter's book refers to an expression he and his brother would use with each other after Beau's diagnosis, meant to emphasize what was important in life.
He is likely to have received an advance of up to $2million for writing the book and stands to make millions more if he allows his life story to be filmed.
Robert Downey Jr has already been mentioned as the ideal person to play him on the silver screen.
Hunter is a lawyer and former lobbyist whose work helped lead to the first impeachment of Trump.
He joined the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma in 2014, around the time his father, then US vice president, was helping conduct the Obama administration's foreign policy in that region.
Trump and others insisted that Hunter was exploiting his father's name, and they raised unsubstantiated charges of corruption.
The House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump in 2019 after learning that he had pressured Ukraine's president to announce it was investigating the Bidens. Trump was acquitted by the Senate.
Last December, Hunter confirmed that the Justice Department was looking into his tax affairs, and The Associated Press subsequently reported that he had received a subpoena asking about his interaction with numerous business entities.
The Vice President Joe Biden (left) and his son Hunter Biden appeared at the Duke-Georgetown NCAA college basketball game in Washington on January 30, 2010
Hunter's book called Beautiful Things will center on his well publicized struggles with substance abuse. Hunter (pictured), who turned 51 on Thursday, was discharged from the Navy Reserve in 2014 after a positive test for cocaine
Though Trump made clear publicly that he wanted a special counsel to handle the investigation, then-Attorney General William Barr did not appoint one. Hunter has denied any wrongdoing.
Financial terms for Beautiful Things, which was written in collaboration with the author and journalist Drew Jubera, were not disclosed.
Biden and his publisher likely will face criticism from Republicans for his memoir, although books by presidential family members are nothing new.
During Trump's presidency, son Donald Trump Jr released two books, Triggered and Liberal Privilege.
President Biden has pledged that, unlike during the Trump administration, no family members would work in the White House.
The book was in the works before he became the Democratic frontrunner in the presidential campaign.
New York publishers often take on authors with a wide range of political viewpoints, and Simon & Schuster has released books by Trump and Sean Hannity, along with such anti-Trump bestsellers as former National Security Advisor John Bolton's The Room Where It Happened and presidential niece Mary Trump's Too Much and Never Enough.
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