Psaki: White House would ‘probably’ like Hunter Biden to ‘go away’

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday she thinks Biden supporters in the White House would likely prefer if Hunter Biden would “go away right now.”

In a roundtable discussion on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” Psaki — who also hosts MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” — said she thinks Hunter Biden’s media appearances overall don’t help his father’s reelection bid.

“Look, I think if you’re sitting in the White House right now, you’re like, ‘Please, Hunter Biden. We know your dad loves you. Please stop talking in public.’ This is not helpful to any of them for him to be out there,” Psaki said.

Psaki added, however, that President Biden’s devotion to his son could appeal to voters.

She pointed to a comment made during a focus group on NBC News earlier. Asked to pick one word that best describes President Biden, this focus group participant said “family.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t have to do with politics. Family. When I think of him, I think he cares a lot about his family,” one participant said, after other participants responded, “tired,” “out of it,” “caring” and “status quo.”

“But, at the same time, the president loves his son,” Psaki said. “That takes precedent over anything else. That is appealing. I’m thinking of the woman in your focus group who talked about family. He loves his son. He loves his family. He’s worried about his mental health. But, yes, the White House would like him to probably go away right now.”

Psaki’s comments come after Hunter Biden gave a press conference on Capitol Hill this past week, after Republican-led committees subpoenaed his closed-door testimony in their probe of his father. Hunter Biden agreed to give public testimony but would not testify behind closed doors.

House Republicans have opened an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, seeking to connect him to his son’s business dealings abroad. They have not found any evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors.