"Jill is a F****": "Laptop from Hell" leaves the Bidens no peace

Old sex videos and insults against his stepmother bring Hunter Biden back into the headlines.

"Jill is a F****": "Laptop from Hell" leaves the Bidens no peace

Old sex videos and insults against his stepmother bring Hunter Biden back into the headlines. But the problem is probably not so much the possible influence on the public image of the US President, but an almost impossible to assess effect for the Democrats as a whole.

For the tabloids it's a godsend, political analysts can doubt again. Hunter Biden, the scandalous son of US President Joe, is used for headlines. Using the backup function of his iPhone, hackers are said to have reconstructed a whole series of text messages that he exchanged with family members in 2018, various media write. In addition, the British "Daily Mail" published a detailed report with photos, videos and official documents that he spent $ 30,000 on prostitutes in five months.

Hunter's brother Beau died of cancer in 2015. Hunter drugged himself with alcohol, lost weight and also became addicted to crack. In 2017, his wife divorced him, and in 2018, he and Hallie Biden, his brother's widow, briefly dated. At the time, he continued to have serious drug problems, went into rehab several times, and relapsed. Hunter also took photos and videos of his meetings with the prostitutes. The Secret Service, which is responsible for the security of the presidential family, said they were aware of the potential hacking attack on Hunter's iCloud and had alerted the various investigative authorities.

The published details from these years come from the infamous "Laptop from Hell", which played a role in the election campaign between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The "laptop from hell" is said to have been handed in for repairs by Hunter in Biden's home state of Delaware because of water damage. The owner had made a copy of the data before FBI investigators took the device away in 2019. Hunter Biden is under investigation in tax matters. He is not accused, according to US media, the US President himself is not part of the investigation.

Republicans have been trying for years to construct a US presidential conflict of interest related to the Biden family's business dealings in Ukraine, Russia and China. During Biden's vice presidency, Hunter worked for Ukrainian gas company Burisma. Father Joe could possibly be blackmailed as president because of family interests, the conservatives whispered. The existence of the laptop and business e-mail is now practically documented. Recently, Republicans saw a conflict of interest with Biden over the sale of oil reserves on the world market.

Even if these new publications should negatively affect the public image of the US President, they should not make a significant difference for him at the moment. The Democrat has long been stuck in the polls low, only 38.5 percent of Americans agree with his leadership, 56 percent are dissatisfied. Doubts about their president are also growing among Democrats: 64 percent of their voters currently say they would prefer another candidate.

Vice President Kamala Harris recently said that Biden intends to stand for re-election. But there are still more than two years to go. First of all, all eyes are on the November 4th congressional elections. Then it will be decided whether the Democrats will at least be able to hold a majority in the Senate. There is a great deal to indicate that the Republicans will at least win the House of Representatives. The problem: Public opinion about the president also influences general voting behavior in the so-called midterms. If voters turn away from Biden, it indirectly costs seats in Congress.

In the news published by tabloid media, Hunter writes, among other things, that his stepmother Jill is a "vengeful underprivileged". The wife of the US President had therefore urged him to go into drug rehabilitation. "F*** my stepmom for always being a selfish, ridiculous, self-righteous f**** like you," he reportedly berated his short-term partner Hallie.

A few days later, he wrote to his uncle about how he had insulted Jill. In his worst drunken state, he's still smarter than she is. "You're a shitty grammar teacher who wouldn't survive a single class in an elite college." Hunter claims in another message that his father never visited him in previous rehab programs.

Hunter is probably sober now, he keeps appearing at his father's official occasions. In 2019 he met South African director Melissa Cohen and they married. They named their son Beau. In an autobiography, Hunter explained that his father always stood by him no matter how bad things were going on.