Hunter Biden was presented with the Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse by the College Historical Society (Hist) today. He was joined by former US President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden, who sat in the audience.
In Auditor Jane Freyer’s opening statement, she said the Hist was “delighted” to present Biden with the medal, noting “Hunter himself has been a topic of debate”. Saying his “personal struggle” had been “co-opted” and “exploited” by the media. Freyer commended Biden for “regaining control” of his narrative.
Biden echoed this message in his address where, after thanking his family, he recounted how his “name became a slogan” and his “worst years” were made “congressional record”. Referring to President Donald Trump, he said: “[He] stood on a debate stage and made my addiction his attack line.” Biden confessed, “I made many of the mistakes they accuse me of […] I’ve written about them [but] the charge stops being what you did, it starts being what you are.”
He moved to the main thesis of his speech: “We are living in an age of bullies.” “I didn’t learn that from a newspaper, I learned it from […] my own scars.” “Cruelty has a method and the method never changes. The bully does not argue with you, he looks for the wound, he finds the thing you’re most ashamed of […] and he presses on it. Then he looks around the room.”
Moving to speak about his experience with addiction, Biden started to choke up recounting a moment in their driveway with his father, former President Biden: “My father was holding me, terrified […] terrified he was about to lose a second son.” “[All I could think of was] what to say to make him let me go […] so that I could go get high.” “At the time, there was no love large enough that mattered.”
In the audience, former President Biden closed his eyes and nodded.
On his recovery, Hunter Biden said he learned to tell the truth, most of all when it embarrasses you”: “answer for what you did, not for what others did” and “accept that you cannot do it alone”. He said the last was the hardest for him to learn.
The Blue Wave
Freyer’s first question for Biden was whether the recent wins for Democrats that she termed the “Blue Wave” — which was met with claps from the audience — filled him with hope. Biden said “normal people are finished with Trump”. He moved to say that he did not believe affordability was the right framework for politics moving forward, saying that the affordability crisis is “caused by corruption” and a “lack of accountability”. He said that “people say the only thing Americans care about is the price of gas […] well I’m American, and it’s not what matters to me the most”, adding that to the many Americans in the room “I don’t think it’s what matters to them the most”.
Moving to hope, Biden cited Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s idea of “bending toward justice”. He said he “didn’t know if that was true anymore” following Trump’s election in 2024, but “last Tuesday, I had a little bit of hope”. Finishing, “But it’s hard to be his son and not be optimistic”.
Addiction Advocacy
When asked by Freyer about his public advocacy and writing on Substack, Biden immediately highlighted his work in spreading awareness about addiction. He said, “The son of the former president of the United States going and talking about how he was addicted to crack cocaine […] it’s like a glass breaking on the floor.” “People [must] realise they’re not alone.”
He finished, “and then I also said a few things about politics”, which was met with laughter from the audience.
Family
Freyer then moved to ask specifically about family in recovery, and he said “it tore us apart”. “That’s the truth.”
He recounted when his brother, Beau Biden, died in 2015. He said, “I completely fell apart”, but noted that his family, especially his daughters, “were also falling apart”. “I didn’t show up for [my daughters] for three years when they needed me […] right when they needed me, I lost it.” “I might as well have been dead.”
“The thing that you can never forget […] is that you caused the pain.” “Addiction is a funny thing […] it can never ever ever be an excuse. But at least it can be an explanation.” “You have to seek forgiveness without any expectation.”
He also briefly joked about the phrase “Biden crime family”, quipping, “the only business of my family is being a family”.
Appearing on Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens
Freyer moved the discussion to media again, and Biden discussed appearing on podcasts with right-wing influencers, like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens.
“I think that it is really really important for people of my political persuasion to speak to their audience.” “Tucker Carlson did more than 14 hours of documentary film about me”, he said. But Biden said we have to “be able to disagree with each other, even if you so fundamentally disagree, on a cellular level, with a person”.
He then said, “and listen, [millions watched], including millions of people who were suffering from addiction.” He gave the example of someone commenting: “I voted for Donald Trump three times […] and you gave me hope not to drink or use today.”
Freyer asked, “Do you get responses like that often?” To which Biden responded: “All the time…. Every 11th [comment] between ‘crack addict’ is ‘Thank you for giving me hope for another day.’”
The Hist has previously presented the medal to guests including Joan Baez, Margaret Atwood, and Michael D. Higgins.
