Sort-of ordinary people
Hunter Biden, remarried and living in Malibu, is pursuing the life
in the arts that, he has written, he always wanted. His latest show
of paintings in New York includes a series he calls Haiku, pretty
representations of flowering plants that are more spare than his
previous work. His paintings sell for up to $225K; buyers’ names
are kept confidential, including from Hunter Biden, in an attempt
to preempt further suspicions he is peddling chances to buy fa
vour with his father. On a recent Friday afternoon, the gallery
owner, Georges Bergès, puzzled over the criticism of his client.
“His story could be a really positive, redemptive story that would
help people,” Mr Bergès says. “He is America, whether it’s addic
tion, or any of that—he is who we are.”
That is taking things a bit far: most family woes do not come in
the form of millionaire cracksmoking lobbyists. Yet Mr Bergès’
observation does speak to why Republicans would be wiser to
leave Hunter Biden’s troubling record with the Justice Depart
ment, where a Trump appointee is leading the investigation. His
tory suggests Americans judge presidents on other grounds than
their prodigal relatives. “I don’t know what to do,” Mr Biden says,
imploring his wayward son to get help in a voicemail from 2018
that was leaked along with the rest of the data. “I know you don’t
either. But I’m here no matter what you need. No matter what you
need. I love you.” Voters have private heartaches of their own, and
they seem to feel presidents are entitled to them, too.
n
Republicans should leave
Hunter Biden to his painting,
and the Justice Department
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