Hunter Biden ripped two infamous decisions made under his father, former President Joe Biden — a wide-open southern border policy and the U.S. military's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In a marathon interview on "The Shawn Ryan Show" released Monday, the former first son said the Biden-era immigration approach became "a disaster" and acknowledged the chaotic Kabul exit that left 13 U.S. service members dead was "an obvious" failure.
Hunter Biden argued the U.S. needs "vibrant" legal immigration but warned the country "doesn't want immigrants that are coming here illegally, draining us of resources" and being "prioritized above" veterans and other Americans struggling at home.
The comments came during an exchange with host Shawn Ryan, who pointed to the contrast many Americans see between overwhelmed veterans services and taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants in major cities.
Hunter Biden pushed back on the idea that cutting benefits for migrants would automatically solve problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, insisting his father "cared" about veterans and pointing to the PACT Act as one example of support.
Still, his broader admission underscored what Republicans have argued for years: The Biden administration lost operational control of the border and refused to aggressively enforce existing law until political pressure peaked.
Government projections have also highlighted the scale of the surge.
The Congressional Budget Office projected net immigration of about 2.4 million people per year in 2023 and 2024 in an "other foreign nationals" category, before falling back toward historical levels afterward.
Hunter Biden also revived a familiar Democrat talking point, claiming a sweeping border bill negotiated by Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., had GOP support until Donald Trump intervened ahead of the 2024 election.
Republicans have countered that enforcement tools already existed and that then-President Joe Biden simply chose not to use them, while Trump, in both campaigns and executive actions, has emphasized deterrence, removals, and limiting asylum abuse.
On Afghanistan, Hunter Biden said leaving the country was "the right thing to do" after two decades of war, but he faulted the execution of the withdrawal and stressed that accountability rests with the commander in chief.
He referenced the ISIS-K suicide bombing at Kabul's airport during the evacuation that killed 13 U.S. troops and roughly 170 Afghan civilians.
"I think that there was a better way to do it, and ... I can blame it on his generals, I can blame it on [other] people [for] the way in which we did it, but — and my dad always knew this also, is that the buck stops with him," Hunter Biden said.
Hunter Biden added his father was "crushed" by the deaths, but his blunt assessment will likely fuel renewed scrutiny of the Biden team's planning and its deadly consequences — an issue Republicans have long argued became a symbol of diminished American credibility abroad.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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