President Joe Biden is receiving some backup in his public avoidance of his seventh grandchild.
On Monday, ABC’s “The View” discussed a column penned by Maureen Down published by The New York Times that slammed Biden for not recognizing his granddaughter Navy Roberts, the daughter of Hunter Biden.
“It’s not the president’s baby,” Whoopi Goldberg said as she argued the opinion piece should have been directed at Hunter Biden.
Meanwhile, Ana Navarro chimed in, “I agree with you completely… It shouldn’t have been directed to Joe Biden, it should be directed to Hunter Biden.”
“This is not Joe Biden’s baby. And I think it’s very hard for Joe Biden to be a grandfather to the child when his son is not being a father. He can talk to his child, he can advise Hunter,” she continued.
Finally, she accused the “right wing” of trying to “weaponize Hunter Biden against his dad.”
Watch the video below:
The View defends President Biden ignoring his 7th grandchild.
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) July 10, 2023
"It's not [Joe's] baby." -Whoopie
"It's very hard for Joe Biden to be a grandfather to the child if his son is not being a father." – Navarro
Navarro whines that "the right-wing … has decided to weaponize Hunter…" pic.twitter.com/rI7JHMOTY6
Navy Roberts’ mother, Lunden Roberts, gave birth to her in 2018. A DNA test in 2019 determined Hunter Biden is the father.
To a certain extent, the co-hosts’ defense is fair. Navy Roberts is not the president’s daughter. And he cannot force Hunter Biden to recognize her as his daughter.
He can implore his son to do so. But it is up to Hunter to make that decision. And if he declines to act like a father to his daughter, that could create an awkward situation for Joe Biden if he were to act like a grandfather.
But where their defense falls short is the long-term ramifications of the president’s behavior.
Joe Biden has reportedly not even met his granddaughter, and in public acts like she does not even exist.
Eventually, Navy Roberts will grow up. And the clips of Joe Biden talking about his six other grandchildren and how “crazy” he is about them and how often he talks to them will likely still be available. The New York Times reports she is aware her grandfather is the President of the United States.
So she will know that her grandfather was the most powerful person in the country and repeatedly refused to even acknowledge her existence not for anything she did, but for circumstances that were entirely out of her control.
And the long-term emotional impact of that is hard to imagine.