{"id":2364,"date":"2026-06-15T12:34:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2364"},"modified":"2026-06-15T12:34:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T12:34:46","slug":"gandelman-america-loves-a-comeback-meet-hunter-biden-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2364","title":{"rendered":"GANDELMAN: America loves a comeback. Meet Hunter Biden, again"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For years, Hunter Biden was less a person than a political symbol. Republicans turned him into a one-man crime wave, Democrats often treated him as a liability to be ignored, and much of the media covered him as a walking scandal.<\/p>\n

Now, in one of the strangest political plot twists, he\u2019s becoming a major social media star, attracting nearly one million followers on X by doing something radical: talking honestly about his own failures.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s hailed for candidly discussing his recovery, for his self-depreciation and wry wit, clashes with media figures and right wingers, and defending his family.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t deny his past, he leans into it. That\u2019s a very different approach to 21st century American politics where everyone usually denies, deflects, blames or attacks.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

If someone insults him as a drug addict he often responds with variations of \u201cYep. That\u2019s my story\u201d When one person called him a \u201cmeth head\u201d Biden replied: \u201cYou mean crack head.\u201d And when hit with homophobic slurs he shoots back, \u201cAnd all your gym pictures with your greased muscles are really hot.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has some critics.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of Biden\u2019s posting is unobjectionable and sometimes even wholesome \u2014 at least by the standards of online attention-seeking behavior,\u201d writes MS NOW\u2019s Zeeshan Aleem. \u201cBut there\u2019s an aspect of his new identity that I find more troubling: his attempts at cross-partisan political populism. Regardless of what his intentions are, he\u2019s exhibiting a naivet\u00e9 about noxious right-wing ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

What has surprised many is Hunter Biden\u2019s social media presence isn\u2019t built on denial or image-polishing. He speaks with remarkable candor about addiction, often using humor at his own expense while reminding followers that addiction nearly destroyed his life. He argues that recovery is indeed possible. In an era where public figures often hide their failures, his willingness to discuss his addiction openly may be one reason so many people find him relatable.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Biden\u2019s life has been a roller coaster.<\/p>\n

When he was a child a car accident killed his mother and sister and devastated his father, former President Joe Biden. Hunter became a successful lawyer and businessman. Then he lost his brother, Beau Biden, to brain cancer. He spiraled into crack and alcohol addiction. He faced years of congressional investigations, political attacks, lawsuits, leaked private material, and relentless public scrutiny. He has now been sober for seven years.<\/p>\n

Hunter Biden\u2019s story taps into something deeply American: the belief that a person\u2019s worst chapter doesn\u2019t have to be the final chapter.<\/p>\n

Consider some famous second acts:<\/p>\n

Ulysses S. Grant flopped in business, struggled financially, and was considered washed up before becoming the Union\u2019s most important general and later president. Winston Churchill was considered a political has-been before becoming Britain\u2019s historical wartime leader.<\/p>\n

Johnny Cash\u2019s addiction nearly destroyed his career and he made one of music\u2019s greatest late-life comebacks. Robert Downey Jr. went from arrests and addiction to becoming a Hollywood mega-star. Muhammad Ali lost years of his career and public standing before becoming a global icon. Martha Stewart went from prisoner to media powerhouse again. Betty Ford transformed personal struggles with addiction into a legacy of helping others recover.<\/p>\n

The common thread is not perfection. It\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n

And perhaps the appeal isn\u2019t really Hunter Biden at all. Perhaps it\u2019s because in an age of spin, excuses, denials and endless finger-pointing, people are encountering someone who says, \u201cYes, I made terrible mistakes. No, I\u2019m not proud of them. But I am here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The strange thing isn\u2019t that Hunter Biden is finding an audience. It\u2019s that after years of investigations, hearings, leaks, accusations and headlines, the thing people seem to like most about him is the one thing nobody expected:<\/p>\n

He sounds human.<\/p>\n

People who spent years telling us Hunter Biden was finished may have overlooked something. Americans love comeback stories. We make movies about underdogs. We cheer when Rocky gets off the canvas. We admire people who refuse to stand down.<\/p>\n

Never underestimate the power of a second act.<\/p>\n

\u2013<\/p>\n

Joe Gandelman is a former journalist who wrote for newspapers overseas and in the United States. He has appeared on cable news political panels and is Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning blog The Moderate Voice. He can be reached at jgandelman@themoderatevoice. Follow Joe Gandelman on X @joegandelman.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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For years, Hunter Biden was less a person than a political symbol. Republicans turned him into a one-man crime wave, Democrats often treated him as a liability to be ignored, and much of the media covered him as a walking scandal. Now, in one of the strangest political plot twists, he\u2019s becoming a major social […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3882,74,3883,1294,3884,3885,1268],"class_list":["post-2364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-addiction","tag-democratic-party","tag-hunter-biden","tag-joe-biden","tag-political-symbol","tag-republican-party","tag-social-media"],"yoast_head":"\nGANDELMAN: America loves a comeback. 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