President Donald Trump told reporters on June 4, 2026, that Hunter Biden might have a realistic shot at winning the White House in 2028, citing the Democratic Party’s recent congressional candidate selections as evidence that the younger Biden could be competitive despite his troubled history.
The comments arrived in response to a question from Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy during an Oval Office availability. Doocy had asked Trump about the possibility of Hunter mounting a presidential campaign after Hunter engaged with a parody X account that had jokingly floated him as a 2028 Democratic contender.
The Platner and Talarico Comparison
Trump singled out Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and Texas Democratic state Rep. James Talarico as benchmarks for his argument, suggesting that if the party is comfortable backing those two, Hunter’s baggage might not be disqualifying after all.
“If the guy from Maine can do well, I guess Hunter could do well too because the guy from Maine is a basket case, and I would say worse than him is the one from Texas,” Trump told reporters, according to the Washington Examiner.
Platner has been under fire over sexual texts he sent to several women, messages his wife knew about and brought to the attention of his campaign. He has declined to exit the race and remains on the ballot for Maine’s statewide primary on June 9.
Talarico is set to challenge Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton in the general election. Trump has escalated his attacks on Talarico over the lawmaker’s progressive Christian views on transgender issues. Trump endorsed Paxton, who went on to defeat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas Republican runoff election.
Trump Weighs In From the Oval Office
Trump opened his response by acknowledging that Hunter’s record poses significant obstacles to any national campaign.
“You would think that, you know, [the] past has something to do with winning an election, and I would say his past is not the greatest,” Trump said, nodding to the long list of scandals that have followed Hunter for years.
Hunter became embroiled in controversy in the weeks before the 2020 election when the contents of his laptop surfaced, fueling allegations of improper foreign influence peddling. He subsequently faced federal gun and tax charges before receiving a pardon from his father, former President Joe Biden, in December 2024, shortly before Joe Biden left office and Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
Trump took a moment to reminisce about his own campaign’s mockery of the younger Biden. “Remember, ‘Where’s Hunter?’ It became the No. one shirt anywhere in the world for about three weeks,” he said, referencing the parody merchandise his 2020 presidential campaign launched, which became a hit within conservative circles.
A Familiar Foe Becomes a Talking Point
Hunter has long been among Trump’s most frequently invoked political targets, making the president’s quasi-endorsement all the more unexpected. Trump appeared to be using Hunter as a rhetorical device to criticize Democrats he considers weak candidates rather than offering genuine support.
Hunter has made no indication he plans to pursue the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, and his interaction with a parody social media account hardly constitutes a formal exploratory effort. The discussion was entirely speculative, though it gave Trump an opportunity to tie together three Democrats he views as politically damaged.
What Comes Next
Maine voters will decide Platner’s fate on June 9 in the statewide primary. Talarico’s Senate race against Paxton is scheduled for November. The 2028 Democratic presidential field remains undefined as the year progresses.
Hunter’s only connection to a 2028 presidential bid remains his response to the parody account that started the conversation. Whether Trump’s backhanded suggestion carries any weight with Hunter is unclear. But in a political environment where the improbable has become commonplace, it might just be pretty close, according to the president himself.
