Hunter Biden says CNN's Jake Tapper is 'attacking' his mom Jill Biden

Hunter Biden publicly called out CNN’s Jake Tapper for what he said was unfair criticism of his stepmother, former first lady Jill Biden, after the release of her new memoir, “View from the East Wing,” earlier this week.

In a June 3 post on X, Biden accused Tapper of attacking his mom after the journalist questioned Jill Biden’s account of former president Joe Biden’s mental state during his doomed 2024 re-election campaign.

"So let me get this straight. Jake Tapper is focused on attacking my Mom," Hunter Biden wrote.

The 56-year-old went on to accuse Tapper of not covering controversies involving President Donald Trump’s children and instead focusing on the Biden family.

Hunter Biden's biological mother, Neilia Hunter Biden, 30, was killed in a car accident on Dec. 18, 1972. Also killed in the Delaware crash was Hunter's sister, 13-month-old Naomi.  Joe and Jill Biden married in 1977.

Hunter Biden’s post naming Tapper comes only days after the CNN host published a critical analysis of Jill Biden’s new memoir, in which the former first lady defended her husband’s fitness for office and rejected suggestions that his mental state was declining during the 2024 election.

“If you knew Joe Biden well, you’d know that if he actually got to the point where he wasn’t capable of doing the job, he would step down,” Jill Biden said in her book.

Tapper went on to say he believed those claims were “downright false,” and further questioned whether the former president's mental state was in decline in later parts of 2024.

“The issue was never about whether he was good, wise, or had the same values,” Tapper wrote in his analysis. “It was about his ability to run for president, to win the campaign, and to serve as president.”

In an emailed statement to USA TODAY, CNN said Tapper's analysis was part of his extensive reporting work on the Bidens.

“This analysis piece by Jake Tapper about a widely discussed, newsmaking book speaks for itself, and is a natural extension of his deeply-sourced reporting work on the Biden administration," according to CNN. "Jake hosts a 2-hour daily news program with an additional hour on Sundays where he covers the Trump administration, in depth and critically, every single day."

A lifelong cancer battle

The conflict between Hunter Biden and Tapper comes as Jill Biden has made several appearances promoting her new book. During a June 1 interview on NBC's "Today" to promote the memoir, she said her husband is "doing OK" despite his ongoing battle with prostate cancer.

"I think if he had just been, you know, diagnosed with prostate cancer, that’s one thing, because that can be cured," the former first lady said. "But the fact that it metastasized to his bones, that makes it a whole different story."

She added, "So I think Joe will live with cancer 'till the rest of his life."

This story was updated to add new information.

USA TODAY’s Melina Khan contributed to this report.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.