Jake Tapper says 'Trump was right' and 'Biden was wrong' about Hunter's business dealings with China

Tapper said that President Biden "might not have been told" by his son about the business dealings, but conceded that "this blind spot is a problem."

By Madeleine Hubbard

Published: August 20, 2023 9:08am

Updated: August 20, 2023 1:47pm

CNN reporter Jake Tapper said that former President Donald Trump was "right" about Hunter Biden's successful business dealings with China and President Joe Biden was "wrong" about the topic during the 2020 debates.

During a roundtable on CNN's "The Lead" on Thursday, Tapper discussed Biden's comments during the 2020 debates denying Trump's claims that Hunter Biden had received money from China and through other overseas business deals.

"Trump was right. I mean, he did make a fortune from China, and Joe Biden was wrong," Tapper said, according to CNN's transcript of the show. "I don't know that he was lying about it. He might not have been told by Hunter. But this blind spot is a problem."

Tapper asked former Rep. Andy Levin, a Michigan Democrat who lost his 2022 member-on-member primary in a redrawn district to Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens, whether he was concerned by the president's comments about the first son's business dealings.

"Well, I think dads sometimes and parents sometimes have blind spots about their kids, for sure, and the President may be no exception," Levin responded. "But nothing has tied the President to any of Hunter Biden's dealings. There's no whiff of him being involved or him being implicated in it. And it's, you know, I think it's not something the voters care a lot about."

House Republicans have presented documents and testimonies purportedly showing the Biden family's questionable activities since they started a major investigation after winning the majority in the 2022 midterm elections.

Hunter Biden's overseas business deals were confirmed in court when he attempted to plead guilty last month to misdemeanor tax charges and enter into a diversion agreement for a felony firearms charge in order to avoid prison time. The deal fell apart when the judge questioned its constitutionality, and prosecutors later asked the court to disregard the deal.

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