President Donald Trump suggested Hunter Biden could mount a competitive presidential campaign in 2028, citing what he views as the Democratic Party’s recent tolerance for flawed congressional candidates as evidence the younger Biden might have a realistic path to the nomination.
The comments on June 4, 2026, came in response to Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy, who asked Trump about the possibility of a Hunter Biden White House bid during an Oval Office exchange with reporters. Doocy’s question was prompted by Biden’s recent engagement with a parody X account that had been jokingly floating him as a 2028 Democratic contender.
A Backhanded Compliment
Trump’s assessment wasn’t exactly enthusiastic. He acknowledged Hunter Biden’s troubled history, which includes a laptop scandal in the weeks before the 2020 election that generated allegations of improper foreign influence peddling. Biden also faced federal gun and tax charges before receiving a pardon from his father, former President Joe Biden, in December 2024, shortly before Joe Biden left office and Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
“You would think that, you know, [the] past has something to do with winning an election, and I would say his past is not the greatest,” Trump said.
But the president quickly pivoted to a comparison that amounted to a qualified endorsement. He argued that if Democrats are willing to support candidates like Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner and Texas Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, Hunter Biden’s baggage might not be disqualifying after all.
Drawing Comparisons to Current Democrats
“If the guy from Maine can do well, I guess Hunter could do well too because the guy from Maine is a basket case, and I would say worse than him is the one from Texas,” Trump told reporters, according to the Washington Examiner.
Platner has faced intense scrutiny over sexual texts he sent to several women. His wife was aware of the messages and informed his campaign about them. Despite the fallout, Platner is not suspending his campaign and will appear on the ballot for Maine’s statewide primary on June 9.
Talarico, meanwhile, is preparing to face Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton in November. Trump has been ramping up criticism of Talarico, attacking the state lawmaker’s political views on transgender issues as a progressive Christian. Paxton secured Trump’s endorsement, just days before defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas Republican runoff election.
From Punching Bag to Hypothetical Contender
The shift in tone represents an unusual moment in Trump’s long-running antagonism toward Hunter Biden. The president even reminisced about his 2020 campaign’s merchandise mocking Biden. “Remember, ‘Where’s Hunter?’ It became the No. one shirt anywhere in the world for about three weeks,” he said, referencing the parody merchandise his 2020 presidential campaign launched, which became a hit within conservative circles.
The entire discussion remains purely theoretical. Hunter Biden has not announced any intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, and his social media interaction with a parody account hardly qualifies as a campaign launch. Still, the exchange offered Trump a chance to lump together three Democrats he sees as politically vulnerable into one tidy package.
Eyes on Upcoming Races
Maine voters will weigh in on Platner at the ballot box on June 9. Talarico’s Senate showdown with Paxton looms in November. And the 2028 Democratic primary field — Hunter Biden or otherwise — remains a wide-open question heading into the back half of this year.
As for Hunter Biden himself, the parody-account exchange that kicked off this whole conversation appears to be the extent of his presidential flirtation. Whether Trump’s unusual not-quite-endorsement nudges him toward giving it serious thought is anyone’s guess. But in a political climate where the unexpected has become routine, stranger things have certainly happened — and according to the president himself, it might just be “pretty close.”
