Hunter Biden publicly broke with his father this week, delivering a blistering assessment of former President Joe Biden’s record on immigration and the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan during a wide-ranging podcast interview.
Speaking on “The Shawn Ryan Show,” the former first son acknowledged that key pillars of his father’s presidency collapsed under mismanagement, calling both border policy and the Afghanistan exit unmistakable failures.
“We need vibrant immigration,” Hunter Biden said during the five-and-a-half-hour interview released Monday. “But we don’t want immigrants that are coming here illegally, draining us of resources, and being prioritized above people that are actual, literal heroes.”
Those remarks directly contradict years of White House messaging under Joe Biden, which downplayed the impact of illegal immigration while insisting the border was secure.
During Biden’s term, an estimated 2.4 million immigrants entered the United States annually, according to the Congressional Budget Office. A Goldman Sachs analysis found that roughly 60 percent crossed the border illegally.
Hunter Biden also suggested that his father’s administration failed to capitalize on a potential bipartisan border agreement, despite repeated claims that Republicans were solely to blame for legislative inaction.
According to Hunter, the White House had secured tentative Republican support for a sweeping border bill negotiated by Sens. James Lankford, Kyrsten Sinema, and Chris Murphy.
“And then Donald Trump stepped in six months before the election, and told Republicans that he was gonna primary every single one of them that voted for that, because we’re addicted to the problem,” Hunter claimed.
The Biden administration consistently argued that congressional action was required to address the border crisis. President Donald Trump, by contrast, relied heavily on executive authority during both terms to enforce immigration law.
Trump’s approach resulted in sharp declines in illegal crossings and mass deportations without relying on new legislation.
Hunter Biden’s most striking remarks came when discussing the withdrawal from Afghanistan, an event that remains one of the most widely criticized episodes of his father’s presidency.
“That was an obvious f—ing failure,” Hunter said bluntly.
U.S. forces exited Afghanistan in August 2021 following a rapid collapse of the Afghan government, triggering chaotic evacuations at Kabul’s international airport.
The withdrawal culminated in an ISIS-K suicide bombing that killed 13 American service members who were assisting evacuees.
