Hunter Biden’s absence from Christmas photo stirs Twitter storm
- Social media reaction had parallels with photo of Queen Elizabeth and some notably missing family members
A Christmas photograph posted by Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden from which son Hunter was absent attracted considerable attention on social media over the holidays.
The photo, signed “from my family to yours”, featured Biden and wife Jill, their daughter Ashley, and five grandchildren, including Hunter Biden’s three daughters.
Hundreds of Twitter responses – many from right-wing or pro-President Donald Trump accounts – asked why Hunter wasn’t present.
Hunter Biden has been a central player in the year’s Washington drama after holding a highly paid position on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings from 2014 until this year.
The younger Biden joined the Burisma board while Biden was vice-president, and the elder Biden also worked on behalf of the US and allied governments to get a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor fired. There’s no credible claim of wrongdoing by either Biden.
Trump has made unsubstantiated claims about Hunter Biden’s business dealings that factored into the president’s impeachment by the House earlier this month.
In their impeachment inquiry, House Democrats accused Trump of trying to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens to gain a competitive edge in the 2020 presidential election. Biden is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in national polls.