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By Gabe Whisnant
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Hunter Biden used a lengthy interview with Tucker Carlson to discuss everything from President Donald Trump and the future of American politics to addiction, the laptop controversy and his personal finances.
The two-hour conversation was notable not only because Carlson was one of Biden's most prominent critics during the 2020 election cycle, but also because the two found common ground on several issues while revisiting years of political controversy.
Here are five key takeaways from the interview:
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Hunter Biden Calls Donald Trump an 'Existential Threat'
Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, repeatedly argued that Trump is more than just a symptom of America's political dysfunction, calling the president an "existential threat" to the country. While acknowledging broader problems in Washington, he said that Trump had accelerated political division and weakened public trust in institutions.
“The one existential threat I think we face as a country is Donald Trump. I’m not this believer that Trump is merely the symptom of a disease. I believe Trump is central to why this disease has gone from a local epidemic to a pandemic in the USA," Biden told Carlson.
Carlson also offered one of his harshest characterizations of Trump since breaking with the administration, largely over foreign policy, describing the president as a "flamboyantly corrupt leader." Carlson argued that Washington has long tolerated "low-grade" self-interested leadership but said Trump represented a different category of conduct. "We've never had a flamboyantly corrupt leader like this," Carlson said during a discussion about money, influence and political power.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
Hunter Biden Calls Benjamin Netanyahu 'Evil Incarnate'
In one of the interview's most provocative foreign policy moments, Biden appeared to describe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "evil incarnate" while discussing criticism of Israel and the war in Gaza.
“If it’s antisemitic to point out that Bibi Netanyahu is evil incarnate then I don’t know what to say to people anymore. All you have to do is just open your eyes. Open your heart for one minute," Biden said.
The remark came during a broader discussion about political labels and accusations that Carlson was antisemitic, which he denied to Biden.
“I 100 percent know you’re not an antisemite," Biden replied.
Hunter Biden Says He Still Owes Lawyers $4-6 Million
Biden also offered a rare look into his financial situation, saying legal bills from multiple investigations and criminal cases have left him millions of dollars in debt. Asked about his finances, Biden said he still owes between "$4 million and $6 million" to the law firm Winston & Strawn and others who represented him.
The former first son said he has tried to avoid bankruptcy and is now focused on writing, speaking, creating art and other projects to rebuild his finances.
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Hunter Biden Gives Detailed Defense of Laptop
The interview included a lengthy discussion about the laptop saga that became a central issue during the 2020 election.
Biden maintained that many of the emails and communications attributed to him were authentic, but disputed the narrative that he knowingly abandoned a laptop at a Delaware repair shop. He said he has "zero recollection" of dropping off such a device and argued that material eventually circulated publicly came from multiple sources, including cloud data.
He also reiterated his position that years of investigations failed to uncover evidence that then-President Joe Biden engaged in corruption on his behalf.
“It’s all mine, all those emails. You know what not a single one of them proves? Any criminality of my father whatsoever. Of any way in which I sent an email saying hey dad I need you to get this done on behalf of a client of mine," Biden said. "It’s all out there, the entire digital footprint. Either I’m incredibly good, in active addiction as a crack addict, or it doesn’t exist. I say to everybody: show me your phone because I showed you mine and you didn’t find a g-damn thing.”
Carlson said he believed the laptop material attributed to Hunter Biden was real, but disputed the standard origin story and claimed that people “connected to Benjamin Netanyahu," not the Russians, had tried to circulate allegations from it to him while he was at Fox News.
“The laptop is real. I thought that from day one,” Carlson said. “But the way that it entered the bloodstream of American media was not real.” He later added: “The allegation...came from the Israelis. I’m just telling you that they came to me with that.”
Why Hunter Biden Is Appearing on Conservative Podcasts
One of the more surprising themes of Biden's conversation with Carlson was his explanation for why he has recently appeared on shows hosted by conservative and right-leaning figures, including Shawn Ryan and Candace Owens.
Biden said those appearances were not intended to persuade audiences to adopt his political views, but rather to break through what he sees as years of caricature and misinformation about him. He argued that long-form podcast interviews allow for more substantive conversations than traditional cable news appearances and give listeners an opportunity to hear directly from people they may disagree with.
During the interview, Biden praised Ryan and Owens for being willing to engage with him despite years of public disagreements. He said he found common ground with both hosts through discussions about addiction, recovery and family, rather than partisan politics. Biden also described Carlson as someone capable of having a deeper conversation than the public often sees in the political arena.
"The things that connect us are more important than the labels we put on each other," Biden said, arguing that people should spend more time talking to those they disagree with rather than retreating into political tribes.
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What We Know About Tucker Carlson and Hunter Biden's Relationship
The prospect of Carlson interviewing Biden drew attention because the two men have long been viewed as political adversaries. Carlson built much of his audience by criticizing the Biden family on his television programs and podcast, while Biden became a frequent target of Republican investigations and conservative media scrutiny. Yet records that emerged in recent years suggested the relationship between the two was more complicated than their public personas might indicate.
In 2021, emails published from material purportedly recovered from Biden's laptop appeared to show the pair had maintained a cordial and, at times, friendly relationship. Among the exchanges was a 2014 email in which Carlson thanked Biden for writing a recommendation letter for Carlson's son in connection with a Georgetown University application. Carlson wrote that he hoped their families could get together for dinner, while other emails contained warm personal language.
The conservative podcaster joked Monday that Biden's letter "didn't help" his son get into Georgetown.
The leaked messages also suggested Carlson occasionally offered personal support when negative stories about Biden surfaced in the media. In one 2015 exchange, Carlson told Biden he had contacted an editor regarding a report Biden disputed and expressed sympathy for the challenges facing the Biden family.
Biden responded by describing Carlson as a friend and thanked him for his help.
Those revelations stood in stark contrast to Carlson's later public commentary. Over the years, Carlson was one of the most prominent conservative voices criticizing Biden, particularly over his business dealings and legal trouble.
Carlson acknowledged at the top of the podcast that they had not seen each other in 11 years, but that he had "talked a lot about you....in the meantime," as the two shared a laugh.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Sam Wilson.
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