By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-18 19:21:05 | Updated at 2024-11-18 21:29:09
2 hours ago
Who needs the “big guy” when you have the big ears?
First son Hunter Biden was spotted in the “Happiest Place on Earth” last week, enjoying the Dumbo ride in Disneyland with wife Melissa Cohen Biden and their son Beau Biden Jr. in one of his first public sightings since Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat.
The 54-year-old dad and his family hopped on several rides at the iconic Anaheim, Calif., park including Dumbo, Peter Pan and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
Melissa was all smiles wearing her Minnie Mouse ear headband next to Beau Jr. in his Christmas-themed Mickey Mouse attire.
Neither of the parents seemed keen on letting the election outcome dim their spirits too much — even though the Democratic Party, led in theory by Hunter’s dad President Biden, took a thorough bashing, including at the top of the ticket with Harris’ stunning defeat.
The couple was joined by several friends and at least five Secret Service agents there to protect the first son and his family.
Hunter and Melissa hired a VIP tour guide for the outing.
At one point, the family was seen munching on funnel cake and taking in the Christmas parade.
Hunter has faced heavy scrutiny during his father’s presidency, with congressional Republicans zeroing in on allegations of influence-peddling abroad and revelations of his crack-addled past dominating headlines.
In September, Hunter pleaded guilty to nine counts pertaining to dodging $1.4 million in taxes. The plea came after he was convicted on three counts in June on charges related to possession of a firearm while addicted to illegal drugs.
“I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy and needless embarrassment,” the first son said in a statement at the time. “For all I have put them through over the years, I can spare them this, and so I have decided to plead guilty.”
The scandal-scarred first son is slated to face sentencing for the gun case Dec. 12 and for the tax case Dec. 16.
President Biden, 81, and the White House have repeatedly maintained that the “super lame duck” commander in chief will not pardon or grant clemency to Hunter before Joe Biden’s departure from the White House.
“We’ve been asked that question multiple times, and our answer stands — which is no,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters after the election.
But President-elect Donald Trump has seemingly kept the door open to flexing his pardon power for the first son, telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last month, “I wouldn’t take it off the books.”
Before voters finished casting their ballots in the 2024 presidential election, Hunter railed against Trump, telling Politico he was fearful of “losing our democracy to a fascist minority.
“I believe that Donald Trump means what he says: that he will ‘suspend’ the Constitution when it suits him; that he will be ‘a dictator on day one’; that he will use the military to ‘handle’ his political opponents and that he will seek ‘retribution’ against his perceived enemies,” the Biden scion added.
President Biden had issued similar warnings about Trump posing an “existential threat” to US democracy but later put on a happy face and welcomed him back to the White House last week.
