Hunter Biden says he’s a little bit gay. How little? Apparently, somewhere around 48 percent.
The former first son made the comment during an August interview with political commentator Luke Beasley, who told Biden that he is gay before turning the question around.
“Are you gay?” Beasley asked.
“Only a little bit,” Biden replied.
When Beasley asked whether that meant more or less than 50 percent, Biden offered a surprisingly specific answer: “48.6.”
The number became a running joke throughout the interview. Beasley asked whether he would be Biden’s type if Biden were gay, prompting Biden to say no and add that “a little bit more masculine” would probably be his type “if I was gay.”
Beasley then showed Biden a photo of the two embracing at an earlier political event and asked why Biden had hugged him that way if he wasn’t his type. Biden noted that the photo was taken before he became sober in 2019.
“So, when you were an addict, I was more attractive?” Beasley asked.
“Much,” Biden replied.
As the conversation continued, Biden joked that his “gaydom” had dropped to 47 percent before eventually revising the number one more time.
“I just want to let you know that I am back up to 48.5 percent gay,” Biden told Beasley near the end of the interview.
Beasley later compiled the exchanges into a video titled “Tracking Hunter Biden’s gayness throughout our interview.”
Whether Biden intended the exchange as a statement about his sexual orientation isn’t clear. He never explicitly identified himself as gay or bisexual, and while he repeatedly described himself as a percentage gay, he also spoke hypothetically about what his type would be “if I was gay.”
The conversation comes amid a series of candid interviews and online exchanges from Biden, who has been speaking openly about his addiction, family, legal troubles and years of public scrutiny. That candor has also extended to LGBTQ+ issues and what he sees as hypocrisy among Republicans in Washington.
During a July appearance on the “I’ve Had It” podcast, Biden argued that Washington has what he called a Republican “closetocracy.”
“Everybody knows there is this closeted gay mafia, largely Republican, that exists in Washington, D.C.,” Biden said.
Biden did not provide evidence to establish that a group of closeted gay Republicans exists in Washington, but he said his concern was not simply whether politicians were gay. Instead, he argued that politicians struggling with their own sexuality could direct that conflict outward while supporting policies harmful to LGBTQ+ people.
“The only reason that is relevant is because I believe that internal conflict creates so much vitriol inside a person that they take it out on the rest of the world,” Biden said.
Biden returned to the subject days later during an interview with gay journalist Don Lemon. When Lemon pressed him to identify the Republican politicians he believed were closeted, Biden declined.
“I’m already in enough lawsuits,” he joked.
Now Biden is joking about putting his own name on a ballot.
During a Sept. 6 appearance on WABC’s “Cats Roundtable,” host John Catsimatidis asked Biden whether he would consider running for president in 2028. Biden first pointed to Democratic governors Andy Beshear, J.B. Pritzker, Gavin Newsom, Josh Shapiro and Wes Moore as possible future presidents.
When Catsimatidis asked again whether Biden himself would run, Biden left him with another joke.
“My answer is that if I get your endorsement, I may have to,” Biden said.
While Biden did not announce a campaign, he did go on to discuss what he would want from a future president, including a commitment to the Constitution and rule of law. “I truly, truly want whoever is our president to succeed. But particularly succeed in keeping this country safe. That’s their primary responsibility,” he said. He also said the issue he cares most about right now is helping Americans struggling with addiction. Biden has spoken publicly about his own addiction and recovery in previous interviews.
The presidential exchange adds another subject to a growing list Biden has been willing to discuss publicly, but his comments about sexuality and closeted Republicans still require some distinction between what he has said and what can be established.
Biden’s claims about closeted Republicans remain unsubstantiated, and rumors about individual politicians don’t establish anyone’s sexual orientation. His criticism, however, has focused on politicians who publicly support policies affecting LGBTQ+ people while, he alleges, privately struggling with their own sexuality.
Against that backdrop, Beasley’s question put Biden’s own sexuality on the table.
His answers may not have settled exactly what he meant by being 48.5 percent gay, but Biden appeared perfectly willing to let his own sexuality become part of a public conversation that lately has included very little he seems unwilling to talk about.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
