‘An Albatross On Him’: New Book Details The Strain Hunter Biden Put On 2024 Campaign

President Joe Biden’s embattled son Hunter Biden was “an albatross” around the neck of his father during the 2024 presidential campaign, according to a new book coming soon from Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Dawsey.

Dawsey, during an appearance on Sunday morning’s broadcast of “This Week,” said that Hunter Biden was a “major figure” in Biden’s inner circle during the campaign — and how heavily the first son’s court case had weighed on the president and his family.

WATCH:

Hunter Biden was a “major figure” in former Pres. Biden’s reelection campaign, WSJ reporter Josh Dawsey said regarding the reporting in his new book.

“He would pipe in to calls. He was helping him make campaign decisions. And the president was very concerned about his son.” pic.twitter.com/9LF549RWtx

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 6, 2025

Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Dawsey to elaborate on his claims that the president’s son had been a “burden” on him and his campaign.

“You also detail how much of a burden Hunter Biden was on President Biden during his campaign,” Stephanopoulos prompted Dawsey.

“Right, so one of the scenes in the book is that the President has a big month ahead in June of 2024, he has European travel, he has the first debate with Donald Trump, as you saw, it didn’t go so well,” Dawsey began. “But the thing he’s telling his friends he’s plays concerned about is that his son is not convicted in his court case.”

“He even offers to testify for his son,” Dawsey continued. “And he’s talking to folks nonstop around him … about his son, right? And he’s just constantly worried about him, he said the prosecutors are trying to break him, and as you see ultimately he decides to pardon his son.”

But what Dawsey really noticed as he did the research for his book was just how prominent a role Hunter Biden had in his father’s inner circle.

“He would pipe in to calls. He was helping him make campaign decisions. And the president was very concerned about his son,” Dawsey said. “It was one of the things that was an albatross on him as he tried to run for reelection.”