October 15, 2019

Hunter Biden takes an emotional roller coaster ride on "Good Morning America."

Halfway through this ordeal — video after the jump – I was saying that if an actor could copy this performance, he'd win an Oscar. The words and the gestures and facial expressions that conflict with them are utterly fascinating. I'm seeing dishonesty, pain, anger, fear, anxiety. We must have paused the interview a hundred times to exclaim and analyze. I could have made 20 interesting screen grabs, but here's the one facial expression that made me get out my iPhone and photograph the TV screen:







102 comments:

TJM said...

So a cocaine addict who is discharged from the Navy and has ZERO experience in the oil and gas industry secures a $50,000 a month gig on a Ukrainian company board does not have any legal exposure? LOL - only in Libtard World

Lance said...

The blues in that first photo (eyes, shirt, blurry background details) all seem overly intense. Makes the image look manipulated.

Mike Sylwester said...

Hunter Biden is a reformer!

The Ukrainian company hired him to reform its policies and procedures.

And now President Trump is mocking this reformer!

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Wow. and the media eat it all up. Oh we love you and your daddy!

doctrev said...

Looks like they're all in on defending their boy and his completely fucked-up, useless life. Outstanding. Hunter Biden's going down and he's dragging countless people with him, starting with his father.

pdug said...

I like the "open the kimono" quip. Has dad's sense of colorful language.

Beasts of England said...

I’d like to play some high-stakes poker against that dumbass, Hunter. He’s a terrible liar.

Wince said...

Maybe I'm confused, but I think that interviewer was on a poster above my bed during the 1970s.

tim in vermont said...

If you define “wrongdoing” narrowly enough, there was no “wrongdoing” by Hunter Biden." If people thought they were buying of US foreign policy by giving him money....” That was the defense they used for Hilary taking hundreds of millions. But the wrongdoing here is Joe Biden’s. He should have recused himself from dealings with the Ukraine, and his defense basically denies that there is any such thing as a “conflict of interest.” He should have recused himself from dealing with China...

His son took a “job” at the age of 21 consulting with a credit card consortium while his dad was working to get a bankruptcy “reform” passed that is pretty much universally condemned by left and right. He served on the board of Amtrak for six figures a year.. It’s dad’s fault for showering his addicted son with easy money.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Where is the DOJ investigation into Hunter Bidne's $50,000 a month paycheck from Ukrainian oil - that just so happened to begin after Joe became VP?

I notice the soft-touch democratic press forgot to ask.

sunsong said...

I'd like to see the old, white men out of the dem race. I want a woman.

Biden and Bernie are too old, imo...so last century...and Bernie's had a heart attack. He should drop out and endorse Warren, imo

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Aren’t drugs great!?

tim in vermont said...

He rented himself as a human shield to Burisma, just like Kerry’s kid, Romney’s kid, Whitey Bulger’s nephew...

It’s protection money.

AlbertAnonymous said...

I only watched about 1/2 of the first video. I hate when GMA and all the others carry water for these elitist asshats. “Absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing” voiceover? Would they ever interject that into a story of Trump? Never...

But what amazed me was how closely this guy tracks to Kendall Roy in the HBO show Succession.

Drug issues. Got everywhere because of Daddy. Arrogant. Hell, he even looks a little like him with the weird facial aloofness.

Anyone else see that?

Oh and the “I’m a private citizen, I don’t have to open the kimono...
Yeah that’s it Hunter. Fuck off.

Trump wins again.

tim in vermont said...

If this were Trump’s kid. Democrats would have a million theories of prosecution.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Filter:

Hunter admits "it was poor judgement" to earn 50,000 a month doing something he knows nothing about - but "he did nothing wrong". Other than---
"gave a hook to some very unethical people to act in illegal ways to try to do some harm to my father. That’s where I made the mistake.”

He gave a hook. To unethical people. LOL - wow - do you leftists buy this shit?

Got that, folks. Is that good enough? Well, it's good enough for the D-hack press!
D-hack press are judge and jury - Hunter is exonerated, thusly!

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

So Sunsong - what do you think of Hunter Biden pocketing 50,000 a month from a Ukraine energy company - just after his dad gets in as VP?

is that cool?

BarrySanders20 said...

Was that audio manipulated to increase the pace of the interview? A conversation usually has at lease a second between question and answer, but there is none here. Very unnatural. Biden looks and sounds like a nervous deponent. This is anxiety-inducing for the audience.

Wince said...

We're supposed to believe that?

In the words of Joe Biden, "C'mon, man!"

rehajm said...

That's some really heavy editing by GMA. What were they cutting out?

rehajm said...

Open the kimono? So he has some sort of racket in Japan, too?

Amadeus 48 said...

Wince for the win.

Nothing says hard-hitting journalistic skepticism like a tricked-up, plastic doll. ABC (owned by Disney) knows what we want. We want the 4th runner-up in the 1995 Miss Georgia pageant.

Hunter Biden is like Chelsea Clinton: leave little Chelsea alone!

BarrySanders20 said...

It's like they prepped him and told him to relax and be natural, and then just before he started, told him not to screw up because his dad's presidential hopes hang in the balance. Crash and burn.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

George W. Bush put Hunter Biden on the board of Amtrak, perhaps George should be questioned as to why he did that. People generally don’t get put on boards of directors for their knowledge of the industry, the lack of industry experience part of the narrative against Biden is bullshit. And the $1.5B from China is bullshit. So I score this as mostly bullshit.

The same sort of bullshit was flung at Neil Bush regarding his directorship at the failed Silverado Savings and Loan, so I suppose this is fair game as far as political bullshit goes. Still bullshit.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing

It's so much harder to find the evidence when you refuse to look for it.

Mike Sylwester said...

Absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing

Absolutely no evidence of any investigation

tim in vermont said...

"Open the kimono”. How did complaints from his dad’s secret service detail come up? Or is it Charlie Rose they are talking about? Maybe both! We need Trump's tax returns to find out!

traditionalguy said...

The Media are constructing a narrative that Hunter is an innocent victim of Trump. And it almost works. It's not his fault that he as the son of Biden receives the laundered loot. Daddy made him do it.

tim in vermont said...

"George W. Bush put Hunter Biden on the board of Amtrak,”

So that makes it alright? Ha ha ha ha ha! That’s pretty funny coming from you Lefty. I have some close experience with the kinds of people who generally get appointed to boards in the real world, and usually it is after a lifetime of accomplishment that proves good judgment. Not so true where government is involved. Bush wasn’t above doing a solid for a powerful Senator from the other party. He voted for Hillary Fucking Clinton. Joe probably called him personally and requested it.

rcocean said...

Just remember: They edited the video to make him look good. LOL

Michael Anthony(TNM) said...

Could Hunter be simply another example of "What happens when White Monkey Jobs go WRONG?" as explained by a South African living in China for the last ten years...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_4Fv_kNXEc

Darkisland said...

I think it may have been Don Surber but somewhere I recently read that a board member of ExxonMobil gets paid about $300-350,000 per year.

And Biden got $600m at Burisma.

I hope someone asks Biden tonight about the $900m that he is alleged to have received from Burisma. Joe, not Hunter.

Joe is gone by the end of November. That is, assuming he makes it through October. Medical problems, real or fabricated, is my guess.

John Henry

tim in vermont said...

"The same sort of bullshit was flung at Neil Bush regarding his directorship at the failed Silverado Savings and Loan”

That stunk too. Hence Trump.

chickelit said...

"Not opening the kimono" works like a "pig in a poke."

rcocean said...

The CNN Veritas Videos shows the TV News Execs have an insane hatred for Trump. Defending Hunter Biden is just part of that effort.

tim in vermont said...

Nancy Pelosi’s kid’s dodge of the SEC for wrongdoing that took place while he was president of the company, at its founding, stinks as bad. The company was a complete fraud.

I love this about Hunter from the New York Times, which is now under. attack for printing true stuff:

Rosemont Seneca Bohai was controlled by Mr. Archer, who left Burisma’s board after he was charged in connection with a scheme to defraud pension funds and an Indian tribe of tens of millions of dollars. Bank records submitted in that case — which resulted in a conviction for Mr. Archer that was overturned in November — show that Rosemont Seneca Bohai made regular payments to Mr. Biden that totaled as much as $50,000 in some months.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Look at the board of Exxon Mobil. Only the Chairman and CEO has oil and gas experience.

Derek Kite said...

My goodness Trump has hit a sore spot. Does anyone think that hauling these over privileged and useless Washington sons onto national TV is going to garner any sympathy or support?

I'm getting the impression that this stuff is very common, just the normal thing to do. Does the questioning even consider how someone in a menial job somewhere in a forgotten town would view this?

This is why Trump is hammering on this issue. And why the reaction has been so fierce.

Another bandage pulled off of a festering wound.

BarrySanders20 said...

LEFT BANK says :"George W. Bush put Hunter Biden on the board of Amtrak, perhaps George should be questioned as to why he did that. People generally don’t get put on boards of directors for their knowledge of the industry"

Exactly. They are "put on the board" for the influence they can peddle, or as favors from one person to another. If you try hard you can see where Hunter and Joe and George (for the Amtrak appointment, needing a favor from Biden no doubt) fit into this.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

People generally don’t get put on boards of directors for their knowledge of the industry

In the future, every American will be offered the opportunity to serve on the board of a major company for 15 minutes.

William said...

To me the really fine performance in that interview was that of the questioner. She had to pretend that she was a journalist asking the difficult questions. I don't think she was quite convincing, but she did a better job than Hunter. He came across as weak and shifty rather than as outraged and wronged....The media don't seem to understand that they are being scrutinized as much as Hunter and that they look just as bad.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

It's all just a tragic coincidence that Hunter was named to the board of that Ukrainian company. It could have happened to anyone. In fact, that was a rumor that it was offered to Chelsea first but she turned it down for the NBC sweetheart deal (which also could have happened to anyone).

Heartless Aztec said...

You always say more when you talk about who you are and what you're about than anything else. Hunter did a fine job of doing just that.

gilbar said...

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...
Absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing
It's so much harder to find the evidence when you refuse to look for it.


not even a smidgen of corruption

Anonymous said...

Yes, look at the board of Exxon. Most of them over 60, with long and distinguished careers in business. Hundreds of years of combined Fortune 500 executive experience.

It's not just that Hunter has no O&G experience. He has NO experience outside of lining his nasal cavities. The idea that he brings anything to the table other than being related to the then-VP is laughable on its face.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

I almost feel sorry for him. He's been told that he must go out and take one for the team, to try and salvage whatever shred of hope his father's campaign has left. Thus joining a long line of enabled, addled, ne'er-do-well fuck-ups who were made to take the fall when the real culprit's plans went south. They're not really defending him. They're hanging him out there like a pinata.

Ken B said...

“He is innocent because Bush did it too” might not be the strongest argument there Left Bank. Think it out.

Of course Bush did it too. They all do. That is why official Washington is so alarmed about what Trump is doing: he threatens their gravy train.

Iman said...

“I'd like to see the old, white men out of the dem race. I want a woman... Biden and Bernie are too old, imo...so last century...and Bernie's had a heart attack. He should drop out and endorse Warren, imo“

Wouldn’t you want an honest woman, not a cultural appropriator powered by animatronics?

Michael said...

The thing about Biden is that this type of crony corruption is so banal. I have no illusions about Trump. He made his name in Manhattan real estate, casinos and network television...three industries known for a lot of cash (and women) under the table. Biden, on the otherhand, made his bones in government, another industry known for cash passing, although some under the veneer of "public service".

gilbar said...

BarrySanders20 said...
Was that audio manipulated to increase the pace of the interview? A conversation usually has at lease a second between question and answer, but there is none here. Very unnatural. Biden looks and sounds like a nervous deponent. This is anxiety-inducing for the audience.


sounds like they stop and restart the audio when they cut to Hunter.
He is Never shown pausing and thinking for a second before answering
BECAUSE two (or THREE) minutes go by after her question; while Hunter, and his Team (ABC news) work on his response...
before trying out their first take
raw footage of this would be hilarious :) I'm guessing 4 takes per question (at least)

Also fun!
Hunter says: "My dad would Never go after someone's children"
Can we agree that's a lie?


Not Sure said...

They edited the video to make him look good. LOL

Waiting for the Project Veritas release of the edited-out clip in which he says "I am not a crook."

Michael K said...

Blogger Left Bank of the Charles said...
Look at the board of Exxon Mobil. Only the Chairman and CEO has oil and gas experience.


Not a good argument, Left bank

Susan K. Avery
Susan Avery
Age 69, Director since 2017

Principal occupation: President Emerita of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a global research organization


Under water drilling ?

Angela F. Braly
Angela Braly
Age 57, Director since 2016

Principal occupation: Former Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of WellPoint (now Anthem), a health insurance company


Healthcare. Not a bad person for a huge corporation

Ursula M. Burns.
Past public company directorships: Xerox (April 2007 - June 2017); American Express (January 2004 - May 2018)
Chair of Xerox


Big corporate IT experience.

I could go through the lest but "son of VP" is not one of them.

Bay Area Guy said...

What a clown!

The term "privilege white male spoiled child of politician" comes to mind.

Ray - SoCal said...

It’s amazing how this Ukraine Biden cya has backfired on the Dems.

It’s hard to justify “I’m just a private citizen” defense, with how the resistance has gone after the Trump family.

And all this exposure of the corruption of DC is nice.

I hope Trump uses the bankruptcy bill corruption issue, and it forces an improvement in the law.

Rob said...

What, he couldn’t take a shave before his big interview? He preferred to look like a cokehead?

Amadeus 48 said...

Cokey von Widowschtup was never a never a great business calling card, except maybe in "The Wolf of Wall Street." Joe should have gotten Ben & Jerry to get Hunter an ice cream distributorship in Aspen or Teluride. At least he would have been close to his hobbies (dames and cocaine), and he would have been a long way from DC.

Politicians' children are off limits! Leave little Hunter alone!

DarkHelmet said...

Everybody knows that Hunter Biden got some sweet, sweet gigs because he was Joe Biden's kid. Anyone who disputes that is a knave or too stupid to be allowed near a keyboard.

Sweetheart deals come in different flavors, though. A relatively harmless sweetheart deal is the University of Chicago Hospitals paying Obama's wife a hefty salary to curry favor with her rapidly rising husband. Probably no direct quid pro quo there. Just greasing some people who may be able to look favorably on you down the road.

Then there is the Biden situation. Biden gets put in charge of American policy toward Ukraine and China and his kid gets sweet gigs in these corrupt/authoritarian countries. Biden gets onto the phone and vigorously intervenes in Ukrainian law enforcement/corruption investigation. This is suddenly a far more problematic sweetheart deal than Michelle's excellent retainer at U of C. And Michelle wasn't a drug-addled loser.

Original Mike said...

"And the $1.5B from China is bullshit."

Really? Please elaborate.

Anonymous said...

"Biden gets onto the phone and vigorously intervenes in Ukrainian law enforcement/corruption investigation."

Point of order - it was on site. "I'm going to be leaving here in six hours and if he's not fired by then the deal's OFF!!!"

Tina Trent said...

What's up with the hangover shadow? An attempt to look like such a loser people see their own screwed up kids or themselves, and feel pity for the Bidens? Raw contempt for the public and a screw you to dad's handlers?

Or, just too hung over to shave?

Sebastian said...

"here's the one facial expression that made me get out my iPhone"

Former addict anxiously trying to keep it together?

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

I don't blame Hunter. If a $50K per month gig fell into my lap, I would have signed up too. I'm sure he just assumed Joe would smooth over any questionable details. I mean if dad is willing to publicly boast about demanding a quid pro quo exchange with Ukraine, you assume he's willing to go to the mat for you.

tim in vermont said...

"Really? Please elaborate.”

Reasons! Such blandishments are SOP for our politicians.It’s like taking a piece of the silverware on Air Force One. It’s expected. Remember that Trump is #NotNormal or he would know this!

tim in vermont said...

There was a quid pro quo with Michelle, BTW. Hospital got an earmarked grant, she got a doubling of her salary. If she runs, there is plenty of dirt from Chicago.

Birkel said...

$1.5BN was what the investment company (for which Biden had no experience) got to investment.
With a 2% commission, that is $30MM per year for managed money.

With a discount rate of 20% that works out to a $150 payout/bribe.

Skeptical Voter said...

Hunter is a useless twit--but maybe a good actor. But then I repeat myself. Lots of useless, but entitled twits in Hollywood.

That said the Los Angeles Times rides to the rescue--sort of--this morning by pointing out that Trump's kids are doing okay in the business deal department whilst their papa is criticizing Slow Joe and Hunter.

Original Mike said...

"I don't blame Hunter. If a $50K per month gig fell into my lap, I would have signed up too."

I wouldn't have, if for no other reason than I would expect it to end badly (I also like to think I wouldn't have done it because it's immoral, but we are talking a lot of money, so who knows...).

But focusing on him is a diversionary tactic by the left. These governments were bribing the VP of the United States.

stevew said...

After all this exposure, named dragged through the mud, motivations questioned, and qualifications challenged, only to then have to sit through this interview and produce seemingly heartfelt tears, and he's still got the cash. Lots of cash.

Seems a small price to pay. A calculation he's carefully made and orchestrated. We'll never hear from or of him again.

Original Mike said...

It's a lot more money than $50k/month. I've heard higher figures reported for the Ukrainian gig and Lord knows how much he personally walked away with from the China "deal".

wildswan said...

On first take I agree with those who say the interview was edited to make its points. Its main point was an attempt to make an equivalency between the case of Burisma/ Biden and the case of President Trump, i.e., both were investigated. To create a dense, impenetrable, mud-based tangle of assertion and counter-assertion, a swamp, that will bog down the search for truth and reform. I go with Bill Barr and the point he made - ask: what is the predicate? what is the accusation? In the case of Trump the predicate was a story made up by the intelligence community that Trump colluded with Russia. Then the IC investigated its own story whirling about like a cat chasing its tail, issuing subpoenas, calling witnesses and getting nowhere. The same with Ukraine. The IC and Congress made up a story and is now investigating that same story story. Really the Mueller Investigation was about investigating the Mueller Investigation and Shifty's Investigation is about investigating Shifty's Investigation, whirling around forever without catching themselves; and when you see that, the tangle melts away.

But in Biden's case the predicate is corruption and Burisma's corruption is just corruption of the usual sort and Hunter Biden's role is obvious. In the Twenties in England there were similar do-nothing, stifle-questions boards of directors. The practice ended when directors began to go to jail for failing to exercise oversight over shady corporations. Biden had oversight responsibilities also yet neither he nor anyone else on the board had the knowledge to do so and he knew it, he mentions that in the interview - no one had energy experience. How then could he have exercised oversight? So why all the money?

wildswan said...

In the case of China the predicate is that $1.5 billion from China went into a fund managed by Hunter's company. The fake reporter asked "did China give you $1.5 billion", Hunter Biden could say no. China gave it to his company to manage and Hunter just got the fees and interest. Not enough for a razor, it seems.

Ann Althouse said...

"To me the really fine performance in that interview was that of the questioner."

We talked about her a lot. She did great.

Neither she nor JB were doing a performance in the sense of the actor I'm hypothesizing. They were trying to fulfill their real-life role and it was something that involved some fakery along the way.

An actor would be pretending to be in this situation. I'm saying that an actor could study JB and attempt to replicate the expression and if he could do it, it would look great in a movie and he'd be very highly skilled.

It's hard to be an actor playing the role of someone who is lying and covering things up. You're already "lying" just by being an actor playing a role. You aren't really in danger and you don't really have the stakes that JB has. That's complicated to put together.

JB was trying to seem uncomplicated — open and forthright. But he couldn't do it. If he were a great actor, maybe he could. But he didn't give anything I'd call a great performance.

So of course the interviewer gave a much better performance. She did let it slip that she was excited about getting emotion out of him.

Iman said...

Of course you mean HB, not JB.

mccullough said...

Hunter is the Gen-X version of W. At least W quit coke when he was 40. Hunter will get there. He’ll be president within a decade.

Michael said...

Board members are selected in a variety of ways ranging from choosing friends of other members or of the CEO, through a rigorous search process or through industry contacts. I doubt Biden falls into any of these categories. It is not a requirement or even desirable to have all board members expert in the field of the corporation. But of all the competent people in this vast world to settle on Joe Biden who happens to be very well connected to a high government official has got to raise eyebrows. It really smells to high heaven. It is, in one word, indefensible.

Yancey Ward said...

Deer in the headlights is how I see that screen capture.

Michael said...

Left Bank of the Charles
You make a good point about how JB was given a seat on the Amtrack board. Clearly a political favor. But how about the Ukrainian board? A foreign company? In the middle of nowhere? Reaches out to JB of all the possible candidates on the planet? When his father is VP? With a remit to mind Ukraine? You do not need expertise in an industry to serve on a board but you do need some connection to the world of governance in a particular country or business connections in country. Or even a modicum of gravitas. LOL

Sydney said...

It’s so strange to me to hear Biden talk about corruption as a Trump thing. To me, the Democrats and theiir appointees are the face of corruption and the ones who have come very close to destroying this country in an attempt to keep their power. Is it cynical of me to think his tears are because he won’t have anymore sweet jobs and he didn’t save any of that $50,000 a month salary?

Amadeus 48 said...

Oh, Althouse--JB? Not HB?

The ultimate Freudian slip.

Drago said...

So of course the interviewer gave a much better performance. She did let it slip that she was excited about getting emotion out of him.

And precisely on cue, as scripted, as well!!

All's well that ends well one supposes.

Drago said...

Left Bank: "George W. Bush put Hunter Biden on the board of Amtrak, perhaps George should be questioned as to why he did that. People generally don’t get put on boards of directors for their knowledge of the industry"

George did it for the same reason he surrendered the writing of the Education bill to Teddy Kennedy and made sure he was seen hugging on the obama's after the obama's weaponized the entire federal bureaucracy against conservatives.

But yeah, that's one Q&A I would enjoy watching.

David Begley said...

From “Hamilton”

Ain’t going to be President now
That’s one less thing to worry about.

michaele said...

I read from a link on another blog the following excerpt from Sen.Tom Carper explaining why Hunter was such a good candidate for the AMTrack board of Directors. This was a Congressional record in 2006...
"Hunter Biden is a native Delawarian and I would go on to say that he’s also been nominated to serve on the Amtrak Board of Directors. When Hunter was unable to get into the University of Delaware, he instead went on to Georgetown and then to Yale Law School and managed to get through those OK. He’s ended up being Senior Vice President at MBNA one of the largest financial institutions in the country. He served as Executive Director of Economy Policy Coordination at the U.S. Department of Commerce. About 5 years ago he went off and formed a law firm here in Washington, D.C., and now they represent over 100 clients including a bunch of non-profit organizations and
educational institutions.

More specifically, though, and for our purposes and for the purpose of this nomination, Hunter Biden has spent a lot of time on Amtrak trains. Like his father, like our Congressman, Mike Castle and myself, Hunter Biden has lived in Delaware while using Amtrak to commute to his job as we commute to our job in Washington almost every day of the week."

What jumped out to me was the phrasing that Hunter was UNABLE to get into the University of Delaware so, instead, he went to Georgetown. Wow, I didn't think Georgetown would be a fall back school for someone who couldn't get into a state university.

Yancey Ward said...

And Biden is lying outright when he claims to have made no money on the 1.5 billion dollar China investment. He holds a 10% equity position he purchased for $400,000- he will make his money when he cashes out of the position. The firm could have literally invested the Chinese money in US Treasuries and Hunter Biden would likely reap at least $10 million from the accrued fees and bonuses. He is counting on idiots to ignore the future. What he could do is sell back the equity position for the $400,000 he paid with, lets say, 2.5% interest over the last 5 years. Yeah, he won't be doing that, is my prediction.

Rory said...

I was tracking the Pelosi-D'Alesandro feed at the public trough, which goes back continuously to 1926. Her dad wrapped his career up with nine years on the "Federal Renegotiation Board," which was nominally responsible for clawing back cost overruns from defense contractors. It was such a limp dishrag that Pres. Carter could kill it in the late.

At least three of Nancy's four brothers developed an understandable interest in the fascinating world of city clerking. That's three reglar people who had to scramble for a job.

Sam L. said...

I am SO not bummed for him.

Kansas City said...

I thought HB did okay. The shiny white teeth and presumably enhanced blue eyes were a distraction, but his answers on the substantive questions were okay and sort of honest when he more or less acknowledged he capitalized on his last name. I also thought there was some genuine humor when he pushed back at how she characterized his drug treatment - sort of a funny natural moment.

I also thought the interview did well. Short interesting questions. I do wonder about the editing. The pace seemed unnaturally fast. At least designed to make her look good, but also maybe to help HB.

Overall, I thought it was a good effort by both of them.

Easy to say from the cheap seats, but I thought he should have been gracious to Trump - realize hard to do. He could have dismissed the attacks as politics, but also said something along the lines that he hopes Trump does well as president and makes decisions that turn out good for the country - with a joke closer like "until my Dad takes over."

Kansas City said...

I also meant to say that HB doing well here is subject to the possibility that more evidence is coming. But again, okay job by him and, with a friendly media, perhaps enough to diminish the focus on him as an issue.

holdfast said...

"being Senior Vice President at MBNA"

You mean being A Vice President. They have hundreds of those.

Ranks at a bank:

1) Analyst
2) Associate
3) Vice President
4) Senior / Executive Vice President
5) Director
6) Executive Director
7) Managing Director (MD)

And that's not being on the Board or anything - those are all just the guys doing investment banking deals, etc. The MD could be as young as 45, or sometimes even younger.

narciso said...

yes, w got in with a lobbyist for Bahrain interests, jeb dealt with a bunch of slithy toves in Miami as a developer (shocker) at least one s & L scammer, one hmo defrauder, (who fled to spain) one corrupt banker, and one import export specialist,

narciso said...

that's not including the player from bcci, a Robert mueller type would have flambe'd him,

Susan said...

I bet after this interview the studio reconsiders having a bowl of complimentary Adderall in the Green Room.

Meade said...

Joe Biden, devouring his son, Hunter.

Bilwick said...

Something about the photo reminds me of Zoolander's "Blue Steel."

Swede said...

This guy was born into every advantage that can be imagined and still managed to make a flaming fucking wreck of his life.

It's like he can't NOT fuck up.

If it wasn't for his dad, he'd be dead or selling blow jobs at truck stops.

The Godfather said...

I hope someone here will save me from having to watch all the interviews with Hunter Biden that ABC is running today just to find out whether the news lady asked him:

Burisma was reportedly paying you $50,000 per month while your father was Vice President of the United States and in charge of US relations with Ukraine. Isn't it true that when you accepted that payment, you knew that Burisma was using it to buy influence with the United States Government?

As a Director of Burisma, didn't you have a fiduciary duty to prevent the company from engaging in such illegal activities?

The Godfather said...

Amtrak is a sideshow, but let's remember: Amtrak is, for all practical purposes, a US Government agency. Hunter cited his membership on the Amtrak Board as a qualification for the Burisma Board. Given the nature of Amtrak, of course he was put on the Amtrak Board because of his political connections. Therefore, can we take that as an admission that he was put on the Burisma Board because of his poltical connections with the Obama Administration?

Francisco D said...

Look at the board of Exxon Mobil. Only the Chairman and CEO has oil and gas experience.

Something tells me that you have no experience with corporate boards. I have in my role as corporate psychologist. Most outside board members are quite successful in various businesses. Their diverse expertise is usually helpful in strategic planning. The annoying and useless ones are those who spent a career at a level higher than they should have (Peter principle).

We have to coin a new term "Hunter principle" for board members who are COMPLETELY unqualified for almost any employed position (i.e., a senator's son).

Michael K said...

Something tells me that you have no experience with corporate boards.

Actually, the young lady who founded Theranos was clever with her board. She appointed men like 90 year old George Schultz and Henry Kissinger, who had no idea of what she was doing. It was, sort of like the Hunter Biden appointment, political to keep people from looking too hard at her business plan. It was just as crooked except the 90 year olds didn't know what was going on.

She also appointed David Blois, big time Democrat super-lawyer, to fend off those too curious. Kind of like those going after Giuliani,.

320Busdriver said...

Frankly, the shenanigans the Biden duo engaged in in China dwarf the Ukraine corruption. Please refer to ANY of Peter Sweizers’ exposure of Hunter and John Kerry’s stepsons BS. 10 days ago he appeared on Mark Levin on Fox and it was shocking how bad it all looks.

Besides, if there was nothing improper why resign from the boards now? Joe is just as crooked as Hillary. And wtf was Obama doing while this was going on? I’m beginning to think he was addicted to opioids while president.

Nichevo said...


Lance said...
The blues in that first photo (eyes, shirt, blurry background details) all seem overly intense. Makes the image look manipulated.

10/15/19, 8:16 AM


Right on, Lance-man! And note further that Hunter has no stones to throw on the Orange Man angle. Given his own shady shading in the still image, that would be...nekulturny!

Nichevo said...

In fact, that was a rumor that it was offered to Chelsea first but she turned it down for the NBC sweetheart deal (which also could have happened to anyone).


TBH, no, not to Hunter. Because A, nobody (?) at NBC wants to bend Hunter Biden over a desk and bugger him, and B, I'll credit Hunter with not digging that either. However, the Obama sisters could have got that gig readily enough. One of them already interned with Harvey Weinstein so should be in training.