During a recent interview, Hunter Biden seemed to admit that his father, former President Joe Biden, didn’t do so well during his debate against Donald Trump. However, he believes there’s a fairly simple explanation for this: His father was allegedly taking Ambien.
Ambien is a prescription drug that is used to treat insomnia. According to 55-year-old Hunter, his father looked like a “deer in the headlights” during the debate because he says he was taking the sleeping medication. Hunter recently did a three-hour interview with YouTube personality Andrew Callaghan.
During the interview, he defended his dad’s debate performance and slammed some of the people who suggested he should drop out of the presidential race.
“I know exactly what happened in that debate,” Hunter said. “He flew around the world — basically the mileage that he could have flown around the world three times. He’s 81 years old.” Hunter went on to say that his father was clearly “tired as s—,” so “they give him Ambien to be able to sleep.”
He then suggested that the medication’s side effects affected his debate performance. “He gets up on the stage, and he looks like he’s a deer in the headlights,” Hunter said. “And it feeds into every f—ing story that anybody wants to tell.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, taking Ambien can lead to drowsiness, lightheadedness, and dizziness, especially for older adults. It can also make people “less alert than they are normally.” Prior to Hunter’s interview, Joe Biden’s alleged use of Ambien leading up to the debate had not been mentioned, per USA Today.
In addition to his claims about Ambien, Hunter’s harsh words for George Clooney have also made headlines. In July 2024, the actor publicly urged Joe Biden to exit the race in an opinion piece for The New York Times. He had previously supported Biden’s campaign.
Clearly, Hunter didn’t appreciate the article at all. During his recent interview, he said, “What right do you have to step on a man who’s given 52 years of his f—ing life to the services of this country and decide that you, George Clooney, are going to take out basically a full page ad in the f—ing New York Times to undermine the president?”
