Hunter Biden for President in 2028? His Latest Comments Are Fueling Speculation

A conditional remark, not a declaration

Hunter Biden sparked fresh speculation about the 2028 presidential race after briefly entertaining the possibility of seeking public office during a weekend radio interview. The exchange was far less definitive than a campaign announcement, but it was enough to put the former president’s son into the early political conversation.

During the September 6 episode of WABC’s The Cats Roundtable, host John Catsimatidis introduced the subject of the 2028 presidential election before asking Biden whether he would ever consider running for office. ‘My answer was, is that if I get your endorsement, I may have to,’ Biden replied.

The wording and sequence matter. Catsimatidis’s final question referred broadly to running for office, not specifically to launching a presidential campaign in 2028. Biden immediately followed his conditional response with ‘But no’ and shifted to what he described as his present mission: speaking publicly about addiction and recovery.

Biden said he hopes sharing his experience can help people living with substance-use disorders feel less alone. He cited roughly 50 million Americans struggling with addiction and described recovery advocacy—not electoral politics—as the reason he has been giving interviews.

Biden praises a Democratic ‘bench’

Before Catsimatidis pressed him about his own future, Biden praised what he called the Democratic Party’s ‘incredible bench.’ He named Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.

Biden said the governors were leading their states from the center-left and could make Democrats proud as president. He singled out Newsom, saying, ‘I love Gavin Newsom personally.’ None of those compliments amounts to an endorsement in a primary that has not begun, but the names reflect several figures already drawing attention in early 2028 discussions.

He also argued that anger over widening economic inequality helped Donald Trump build political support. Biden criticized Trump’s response to that frustration and said he wants the next president to respect the Constitution, uphold the rule of law, protect public safety and recognize that no one is above the law.

A different tone from his August answer

The WABC exchange came only weeks after Biden appeared to dismiss the same possibility. During an August 21 appearance on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Biden said he had not thought about running for president and joked that an announcement would be a reason for someone to check whether he had relapsed.

That earlier answer makes the latest remark notable, but it still does not establish an intention to enter the race. A search of the Federal Election Commission’s candidate database found no 2028 presidential filing under Hunter Biden’s name. The absence of a filing is not absolute proof that someone has taken no preliminary steps because federal rules separately address limited ‘testing the waters’ activity.

A person generally must register as a federal candidate after raising or spending more than $5,000 toward a campaign. Biden described no organization, fundraising operation, staff, travel plan or policy platform that would normally accompany a serious presidential effort.

A candidacy would revive scrutiny of his record

If Biden ever pursued the presidency, he would face intense examination of his personal history and legal record. A federal jury found him guilty in 2024 on three firearm-related felonies. He later pleaded guilty to nine federal tax counts, including three felonies. President Joe Biden then granted him a full and unconditional federal pardon before he was sentenced in either case.

The pardon ended the federal prosecutions but did not erase the historical record of the jury verdict or guilty pleas. Any campaign would also bring renewed attention to Hunter Biden’s business dealings, addiction, family name and years of partisan investigations, along with questions about what experience he would claim as preparation for public office.

Those legal cases would not automatically prevent him from seeking the presidency. Article II of the Constitution requires a president to be a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old and a U.S. resident for at least 14 years. Felony status is not listed among the constitutional disqualifications, as a Congressional Research Service analysis explains.

What the remark means now

The strongest conclusion is narrow: Hunter Biden entertained the idea in a conditional, apparently playful answer, then declined to turn the moment into a declaration. That leaves room for political speculation without supplying evidence of a campaign.

His own account of his immediate plans pointed away from electoral politics and toward recovery advocacy. A real change would be visible through a direct announcement, campaign organization, fundraising, sustained political travel or an FEC filing—not through one line separated from the rest of the interview.

The accompanying image is an authentic 2013 file photograph of Hunter Biden at a Center for Strategic and International Studies panel. It is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license and does not depict the WABC interview, a 2028 campaign event or a current candidacy.