Biden speaks for the first time about the granddaughter he had refused to acknowledge

This Friday, President Joe Biden acknowledged in public for the first time the existence of his seventh granddaughter, Navy Joan Roberts. The president said he wanted “the best” for Hunter Biden’s out-of-wedlock daughter. However, he did not elaborate on whether he intends to welcome her to the White House.

In a statement, the president said that his son and Lunden Roberts, the four-year-old’s mother, “are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward.”

“This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter. Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy,” he said, after months of facing criticism for not recognizing her granddaughter.

All this happened after Navy’s mother filed a paternity suit against Hunter Biden and reached a child support agreement in June.

The president had denied on several occasions that Navy was his granddaughter. “I have six grandchildren, and I’m crazy about them. And I speak to them every single day. Not a joke,” the president said during a White House event in April.

During the 2022 holiday season he even said he had five grandchildren, forgetting about newborn Beau Biden and leaving out Navy.

Criticism after recognition

After Joe Biden finally spoke publicly about his granddaughter Navy, social media was filled with messages criticizing the president for the time it took him to acknowledge her and the timing.

“Imagine being acknowledged as a grandchild only because polling against was so bad,” opined one Twitter user.

“This was becoming a storyline the White House could no longer ignore,” another person opined via social media.