The White House issued a statement in which President and First Lady Biden “acknowledged” the existence of a seventh grandchild – a beautiful little 4-year-old girl named Navy Jones Roberts. She is the so-called “love child” of First Son, Hunter – although she was not the result of a loving relationship.
The “acknowledgement” comes after the Biden family first lied about the child being Hunter’s daughter. Once paternity was established the Bidens brutally ignored their grandchild. There were no meetings. No bouncing on Grandpa Joe’s lap. No Christimas gifts. No birthday parties at the White House. In fact, Joe and Bill Biden have never met their granddaughter face-to-face. For the past four years, Grandpa Joe frequently and proudly referred to his SIX grandchildren. At Christmas, six stockings were hung on the mantle with care.
For his part, Hunter also ignored his daughter. His only interest in her was to first deny she was his child – and then to fight against child support for the child. Daddy Biden has been an absentee father.
When most folks have children and grandchildren, they not only “recognize” them, but embrace them in a loving manner – regardless of the circumstances of their births. What little Navy got from her Biden family was an emotionless acknowledgement of the obvious.
So, why even this? And why now?
The Biden’s said that they stayed aloof to allow the mother and father to work things out. That is more than nonsense. It is a blatant lie. No “working things out” would have been negatively impacted by embracing the girl as part of the family. Arguably, it would have helped “work things out.” Minimally, it would have avoided any potential pain of rejection.
The problem is that the Biden family never considered the reality, the emotions, or the wellbeing of Navy. It was all about political public image. It was all about protecting Hunter from responsibility. It was all about sweeping Navy under the political rug.
It did not work, however. Hunter’s fighting against his responsibilities kept the issue increasingly in the news – as the child grew into that pretty little girl being seen by the public. The Biden cold and callous approach not only became more evident but was leading to rising criticism. It was becoming a political problem.
Joe Biden was not being seen as the naturally loving old grandpa – family man — he purported to be. His decision to first deny then ignore the existence of his grandchild, was a POLITICAL calculation – as is his recent “acknowledgement.”
Throughout this entire situation, Joe, Jill and Hunter Biden never considered or focused on Navy. She was merely a troublesome issue that had to be strategized on political calculations. There was no obvious tugging at the heartstrings.
And that is what bothered me most. Perhaps it is because I dealt with a similar situation. After taking a homeless teenager into our family, we discovered he was the father of an infant son. We immediately embraced the child as part of the family. We negotiated visitation rights. Over the years, we celebrated his birthdays. He was with us on various family holidays. He was included in formal family portraits. We took him on trips. He called my wife and me grandma and grandpa.
This was not something we did strategically. It was something that came naturally. It was impossible to feel or act otherwise. But the Bidens never seemed to have that natural reaction. It appears to have been overridden by the political calculous – as does the recent “acknowledgement.”
Will we now see seven stockings on the mantle next Christmas? Will we see Navy bouncing on grandpa’s lap in the Oval Office? Will there be a financial commitment to Navy’s future over and above whatever the Court imposes on Hunter? Will she be remembered in the grandparents’ will? Are the Bidens ready to embrace their grandchild – or just “acknowledge” her existence and walk away? And even if we see some family photos with Navy, will they be images of family love — or just public-image photo ops for political purposes?
With four years of historic neglect and disinterest, there is no getting round the fact that the Biden family’s approach to granddaughter Navy has been heartless – and the “acknowledgement” under public pressure does not change that.
So, there ‘tis.