President Biden has publicly recognized his seventh grandchild for the first time on camera, following previous avoidance of her existence. Biden consistently declined to acknowledge Navy Joan Roberts, his four-year-old granddaughter, a child of his son Hunter and former dancer Lunden Roberts, until a recent change of heart last week. This marks the first moment the President has publicly addressed her existence on camera.
“Every day, I either text or call my seven grandchildren, five of whom are old enough to chat on the phone,” Biden expressed during an episode of the Jay Shatty Podcast posted this Monday. “I believe being there is crucial and can make a significant impact. The assurance that there’s someone to listen to you, to hold and hug you, is of great importance.”
The President further added that “Showing up is half the job.” Before this acknowledgment, Biden often behaved as if his seventh grandchild did not exist until he finally mentioned her in a recent People magazine interview last Friday.
“Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are striving to cultivate a relationship that serves their daughter’s best interests while attempting to preserve her privacy as much as possible,” Biden stated to Fox News Digital. He also insisted that “This isn’t a political issue. It’s a family matter. Jill and I wish nothing but the best for all our grandchildren, Navy included.”
The controversy intensified when the White House excluded Hunter’s daughter, born out of wedlock, from their Christmas stocking display for the second year running in December 2022.
During a White House event for “Take Your Child to Work Day” in April, Biden again claimed he has six grandchildren. In a recent press conference, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on a question about Navy Joan, stating she didn’t “have anything to share.”
Despite Hunter Biden’s previous denial of being Navy Joan’s father, a DNA test in 2019 confirmed his paternity. He has since contested the amount of child support payments. On August 2018, Navy Joan was born. In May 2019, Roberts filed a paternity suit. Both parties agreed to temporary child support following the DNA test results.
As per the Democrat-Gazette, Hunter Biden and Roberts settled their paternity and child support suit in March 2020. The case was reopened after Hunter requested alterations to the child support payments. The issue was eventually resolved in June, with court filings showing Hunter agreed to provide some of his paintings to his daughter, and the child’s mother consented to drop her counterclaim to change their child’s last name to “Biden.”
