In a twist nobody saw coming, President Donald Trump offered up what might be the most unexpected political compliment of the year — suggesting that Hunter Biden, of all people, could actually pull off a White House run in 2028. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, June 4, 2026, Trump pointed to the Democratic Party’s recent slate of congressional candidates as evidence that the bar, in his view, has dropped low enough for the younger Biden to clear it.
The remarks came after Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked the president about Hunter Biden potentially running for the nation’s highest office in 2028. The question itself was sparked by Biden’s recent reaction to a parody account on X that had been playfully promoting him as the 2028 Democratic presidential nominee.
Trump Weighs In From the Oval Office
Trump didn’t exactly hand Hunter Biden a glowing endorsement — at least not at first. The president initially expressed skepticism about whether the son of former President Joe Biden could overcome his well-documented baggage.
“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 Biden for years.
That past is significant. In the weeks leading up to the 2020 election, Hunter Biden became mired in a high-profile scandal centered on the contents of his laptop, which fueled widespread allegations of improper foreign influence peddling. He later faced federal gun and tax charges before being pardoned by his father in December 2024, shortly before Joe Biden left office and Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
Trump couldn’t resist a nostalgic detour while weighing in. “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.
The Platner and Talarico Comparison
Here’s where it got interesting. Trump pivoted from skepticism to a sort of backhanded vote of confidence, arguing that if Democrats are willing to back the candidates they’re backing now, Hunter Biden might actually have a shot. He pointed specifically to Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner and Texas Democratic state Rep. James Talarico as examples of what he considered flawed picks.
“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, a Maine Democrat running for Senate, has faced intense scrutiny over sexual texts he sent to several women. His wife was aware of the messages and informed his campaign about them. Despite the fallout, Platner is not suspending his campaign and will appear on the ballot for Maine’s statewide primary on June 9.
Talarico, meanwhile, is preparing to face Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton in November. Trump has been ramping up criticism of Talarico, attacking the state lawmaker’s political views on transgenderism as a progressive Christian. Paxton secured Trump’s endorsement on May 24, 2026, two weeks before defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Texas Republican runoff election on May 26, 2026.
A Familiar Foe Becomes a Talking Point
It’s worth pausing to appreciate the political theater at play. Hunter Biden has been one of Trump’s favorite punching bags for the better part of a decade, and now the president is — in his own roundabout way — suggesting Biden might be more electable than some of the names Democrats have actually rallied behind.
The conversation, of course, was hypothetical. Hunter Biden has not announced any intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, and his social media interaction with a parody account hardly qualifies as a campaign launch. Still, the exchange offered Trump a chance to lump together three Democrats he sees as politically vulnerable into one tidy package.
What Comes Next
For now, the focus shifts to actual races on the calendar. Maine voters will weigh in on Platner at the ballot box on June 9. Talarico’s Senate showdown with Paxton looms in November. And the 2028 Democratic primary field — Hunter Biden or otherwise — remains a wide-open question heading into the back half of this year.
As for Hunter Biden himself, the parody-account exchange that kicked off this whole conversation appears to be the extent of his presidential flirtation as of Sunday, June 7, 2026. Whether Trump’s unusual not-quite-endorsement nudges him toward giving it serious thought is anyone’s guess. But in a political climate where the unexpected has become routine, stranger things have certainly happened — and according to the president himself, it might just be “pretty close.”