During a new appearance on theSkimm’s podcast “Skimm’d From The Couch,” Cindy McCain — the widow of the late Senator and veteran John McCain — sharply criticized those who’ve made a mockery of the personal struggles of President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, who has suffered through drug addiction in the past. When still in office, ex-President Donald Trump himself jeered at Hunter’s past addiction struggles, claiming — falsely — that Hunter had been “thrown out, dishonorably discharged, for cocaine use.” (In fact, Hunter was administratively — not dishonorably — discharged from service in the military.)
Cindy McCain herself has suffered through a bout of opioid addiction, and she discusses the experience in a newly released book, Stronger: Courage, Hope, and Humor In My Life With John McCain. During her time on the “Skimm’d From The Couch” podcast, she said as follows:
‘This is not to be political and I don’t mean it to be, but in the case of Hunter Biden, whether you like him or not, whether you agree with him or not, I don’t care. But the fact of the matter, they have once again shamed a man who is struggling in addiction, and the media has taken no sense of responsibility about helping him deal with this… Instead, they’ve made sure that he’s a laughing stock of America, and I just find that wrong.’
Fox News hosts have frequently been at the forefront of antagonistic criticisms of Hunter Biden. Throughout the 2020 presidential election cycle, Trump and his allies sought to use supposed scandals involving Hunter — both real and imaginary — to drag down the Biden presidential campaign, but they largely failed, and one of these efforts (the plot to bribe Ukraine into investigating the Bidens) culminated in Trump’s impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Rhetoric involving Hunter Biden frequently devolved into outright lies from the ex-president and his allies. For instance, there is no legitimate evidence that Hunter had any kind of involvement in criminal activity ignored in connection to a Ukrainian probe of the Burisma energy company, where he served on the board. Although claims repeatedly circulated that Joe Biden himself was involved in overseas business dealings including Hunter, no conclusive evidence for this claim ever emerged. Biden campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said last year that Joe “never even considered being involved in business with his family, nor in any overseas business whatsoever.”
