Hunter Biden Is Going Through It Online

Summary

Bulwark Takes – "Hunter Biden Is Going Through It Online"

Date: June 5, 2026
Host: JVL
Guests: Sam Stein, Sonny Bunch
Theme: Analyzing Hunter Biden's social media presence and potential as a cultural figure.

---

Episode Overview

In this episode, JVL, joined by Sam Stein and Sonny Bunch, dives into Hunter Biden’s recent hyperactive stint on Twitter. The trio examines his online persona, approach to critics, and the broader implications for culture and politics. The conversation navigates whether Hunter's newfound internet stardom could translate to podcasting, broadcasting, or even a role as the Democrats’ answer to Joe Rogan.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Hunter Biden as a Twitter Phenomenon

• Hunter's Posting Frenzy:

  • Hunter has been extremely active on Twitter: "350 odd posts in about 15 or 16 days" [01:32 - Sam Stein].
  • He's responding to everyone, including accounts with very few followers.

• Humanizing Himself:

  • Sam highlights Hunter’s openness about his past mistakes:

    "What I admire about it... is that he's like totally fine at humanizing himself and admitting how many bad decisions he made. And, and then he's like challenging everyone who's calling him a turd to like get out of their Fox News bubble." [01:32 - Sam Stein]

  • This candor sometimes wins over detractors.

• Examples of Tweets & Engagement:

  • JVL shares sample exchanges:

    • Response to a demand for a "crack joke campaign ad":

      "How about let's take another crack with a Biden. Needs work. Possibilities are endless." [03:03 - Hunter Biden via JVL]

    • Exchange with a critic, ‘Ashley’:

      "Look for yourself, Ashley. It's been available to anyone and everyone since it was hacked and stolen years ago. Have you been living under a rock?" [03:15 - Hunter Biden via JVL]
      Conversation humorously pivots to mutual empathy and some apparent conversions.

  • Self-deprecating humor acknowledged:

    "Seven years sober today. Thank you to everyone who has walked this road with me." [07:18 - JVL, quoting Hunter]
    "That was your bag of coke in the White House. Hunter Biden: most definitely was not. I would never have forgotten my drugs." [07:27 - JVL, quoting Hunter]

---

Panel Analysis: Is Hunter Actually "Good" at Posting?

• Sonny Bunch’s Critique:

  • Hunter's replies get reactions because people don’t expect to be noticed by celebrities.

    "He's really not that good of a poster. His jokes aren't that good. He's just literally doing the bare minimum of acknowledging these people, which is what causes the response." [03:56 - Sonny Bunch]

  • Sonny is candidly critical of Hunter’s character:

    "The thing about Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden is it's really the one thing that all of the conservative media got right. He was a terrible person. He's a terrible person from start to finish." [05:12 - Sonny Bunch]

  • Weaved in is the question of whether to separate the art and artist:

    "But the problem is the art and the person and the politics are all kind of irrevocably wound up in each other." [06:52 - Sonny Bunch]

Morality vs. Content

• The hosts discuss the complexities of enjoying someone's online presence when that figure has deep personal flaws and public baggage.

---

Could Hunter Be a Political or Cultural Figure?

• Speculation on Hunter's Future:

  • JVL asks if Hunter could run for office or become a media figure:

    "Is it possible that Hunter could make a move at some point politically, something in the culture, as a podcast host, a presidential candidate?" [09:56 - JVL]

  • Sam flatly rejects the idea of a political run, citing broad dislike for the Bidens within the Democratic Party [10:47 - Sam Stein].

  • Both Sam and Sonny see possibility in a media turn:

    "There's obviously a future for someone who is willing to be self-deprecating and say provocative shit. And he's got name and ID." [11:44 - Sam Stein] "I think he could absolutely be a podcaster or YouTuber type or even, even a television presence." [11:58 - Sonny Bunch]

  • Sonny points out the risk and the inherent entertainment value:

    "People...will tune in for the inevitable relapse and train wreck because it's gonna happen..." [12:20 - Sonny Bunch]

---

Could Hunter Be the Democrats' Joe Rogan?

• JVL prompts debate over whether Hunter could fill the cultural niche akin to Joe Rogan for the left:

  "Why can't Hunter Biden be the Democrats? Joe Rogan?" [13:38 - JVL]

  • Sam and Sonny raise doubts about Hunter's ability to generate content beyond politics:

    "Because what is he without politics? Like, no one goes to Hunter because they think he's a world class artist. No one's talking to Hunter because he's like, sports." [14:41 - Sam Stein]

  • JVL argues that a show mixing culture, addiction, and personal stories could work:

    "He talks about his addiction stuff. Would you listen to Rex Chapman and Hunter Biden just having a talk about what life has been like for them? I bet it'd be pretty interesting." [17:48 - JVL]

  • Sonny and Sam are less convinced, noting baggage and public resentment remain large hurdles.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sonny Bunch on Hunter's online presence:

  "He exists. His existence is an affront to all decent people. I'm sorry, he's just...He's a bad person, and like the badness." [06:52]

• Sam Stein on the many reasons Biden-world does not want a Hunter comeback:

  "No one wants this. No one wants this...she's like starting fights with Andrew Bates, who is like the biggest Biden Baghdad defender of all time." [11:09]

• JVL's pitch for content over morality:

  "I just want everybody to think about this. Not in moral terms, but in content terms. Would it be tremendous content? I think it would." [18:52]

---

Segment Timestamps

• 01:00–03:55: Intro to Hunter’s Twitter resurgence; examples of tweets and reactions
• 03:56–06:52: Sonny’s critique of Hunter as a problematic and underwhelming poster
• 06:52–08:51: Further tweet examples; discussion on separating "art from artist"
• 09:56–11:44: Q&A on possible political/media career for Hunter
• 13:38–15:33: Debate: Could Hunter become a Rogan-esque cultural crossover?
• 15:55–18:52: Final thoughts on the feasibility of ‘Hunter Biden: Content Creator’

---

Episode Summary

This lively episode dissects Hunter Biden’s impulsive, confessional Twitter streak, with the panel both fascinated and appalled. The hosts air out whether Hunter’s blend of notoriety and oversharing marks him as a healing, relatable celebrity—or the ultimate symbol of contemporary American dysfunction. The conversation transitions from comedic tweet breakdowns to serious consideration of Hunter as a possible media celebrity—possibly even as a left-leaning version of Joe Rogan—though none think a true political future is realistic for him. The episode ultimately pits the entertainment value of a trainwreck against the corrosive effects of scandal fatigue, ending with JVL’s assertion: whatever Hunter does, it’ll be "tremendous content."

---

For listeners seeking a snappy, conflicted analysis of internet fame and its intersection with politics, this is a sharp, entertaining conversation—whether or not you think Hunter deserves his roses.

Transcript

[Oregon Lottery Announcer]

Oregon parks make an Oregon summer. But what makes an Oregon park well? Oregon Lottery gameplay helps no matter the game Megabucks, video lottery or keno funds from lottery games help support parks projects across the state, ensuring they stay safe, accessible and open for all. In fact, Discover State Park Scratches are in stores now. It's the perfect way to put a little bit of Oregon's parks in your pocket. The Oregon Lottery Together we do good things. Must be 18 or older to play. Lottery games are based on chance and should be played for entertainment only.

[JVL]

Dish has been connecting communities like yours

[Sam Stein]

for the last 45 years, providing the TV you love at a price you can trust. Watch live sports news and the latest movies, plus your favorite streaming apps all in one place.

[JVL]

Switch to Dish today and lock in

[Sam Stein]

the lowest price in satellite TV, starting at $89.99 a month with our two year price guarantee. Call 888-add-H dish or visit dish.com today.

[JVL]

Hey everyone. Hunter Biden is back. He's back, baby. And he's on Twitter and he's got two thumbs and he is posting. I'm JVL here with my bulwark colleagues Sam Stein and Sonny Bunch, and we are looking at the potential Victor Wembayama of Twitter, a generational talent. Hunter Biden. Sam, would you care to make for readers and listeners and all of our audience, the case for Hunter Biden as a follow now?

[Sam Stein]

So now I'm trying to think of a better basketball analogy than Victor when Benyama, because it's like Jordan on the Wizards maybe is a better one. He went away, came back and is like a little bit past his prompt. But still good. He's still good. Okay. No, Hunter's having a run right now on Twitter. We calculated that it was something like 350 odd posts and about, I don't know, like 15 or 16 days. He discovered the platform and then quickly, and I don't mean this in like a snide way, he became kind of addicted to it. And he's replying to anyone who's in his mentions, like accounts with 300 followers. What I admire about it, and Sunny's probably going to tell me I'm wrong, but whatever, is that he's like totally fine at humanizing himself and admitting how many bad decisions he made. And, and then he's like challenging everyone who's calling him a turd to like get out of their Fox News bubble. And the responses to his responses often are like, okay, yeah, good point. Or you know, they seem like tripped up by the engagement. So I Actually do admire that. And I'm giving Hunter his, his roses for that.

[JVL]

Can we have some examples before Sonny, before you get to offer the counterpoint again? I want people to see what we're doing here is I don't know who these people are on the Twitters. They're nobody. Hunter, I'd vote for you, but even if you're sober, I would require at least one crack joke campaign ad to pledge my loyalty. I await your response. Hunter Biden. How about let's take another crack with a Biden. Needs work. Possibilities are endless.

[Sam Stein]

Doesn't need work.

[Sonny Bunch]

It doesn't work. He's not. Okay.

[Sam Stein]

It needs work. It needs work.

[Sonny Bunch]

Yeah.

[Sam Stein]

All right.

[Sonny Bunch]

Need something.

[JVL]

Okay. I mean, do you want more? We can do more. More from Ashley. Team Trump 47. What's on your laptop, Hunter? Eyeball emojis. Hunter Biden. Look for yourself, Ashley. It's been available to anyone and everyone since it was hacked and stolen years ago. Have you been living under a rock? Ashley? I'd rather live under a rock than smoke. It was like my Lucille Bluth voice. Hunter. Me too. It was awful. Ashley. Well, damn, Hunter, that makes me sad. But I draw that stuff. Hope you stay clean. You deserve a better life than you were living. Good luck. I mean, it just sounds like he's converting people left and right, one by

[Sam Stein]

one, one by one.

[Sonny Bunch]

Well, no, this is so, this is actually so. I will agree with Sam that he is, he's a good poster in the sense that most people on social media, if you yell at them, if you yell at a famous person on social media, you are not expecting a response back. And when you get the response back, you are instantly abashed by that because you're like, oh, that's right. I'm actually yelling at a human person. And I feel bad about that. The problem with all of this is that he's actually, he's really not that good of a poster. His jokes aren't that good. He's just, he's just literally doing the bare minimum of acknowledging these people, which is what causes the response. But, you know, I, I, I saw, I saw somebody mention on Twitter that, like, the people who are really praising this haven't spent enough time around recovering addicts. They haven't spent enough time in Narcotics Anonymous. Because this is, this is like the whole thing. This is like the self deprecating. Yeah, you know, I suck dick for coke. Like, okay, like that's, you know, from, that's a reference to a movie. That's not a, you know, that's not a self admission. The, the, the problem with, the problem with Hunter is that every time he is back in the public eye, it reminds everybody of how terrible the last six months of that campaign were. And I'm sorry. I like when he goes out there and yells at Jake Tapper. He's like, Jake Tapper, lay off my mom. She's. This is the biggest problem in the country. As my mom has a book, she's out there doing a press tour talking about how she thought her husband had a stroke in the debate. And like, I'm sorry, that's the thing we have to talk about. And so this, this, this idea that we are supposed to just give this guy a pass or that we're supposed to find him amusing. And this is the thing that actually kind of sends me as the kid sends me as the kids say, because I like, he tells people to get out of their Fox News bubble. The thing about Joe, Hunter Biden. The thing about Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden is it's really the one thing that all of the conservative media got right. He was a terrible person. He's a terrible person from start to finish. He's out there seducing his dead brother's wife and getting her addicted to drugs. He is out there throwing handguns into trash cans across from schools. He's out there leaving his laptop filled with terrible things in shops that then gets. I, I don't even know how that winds up with Giuliani. Like there's, there's a series. He's out there. He's out there functionally taking bribes by selling his artwork for outrageous amounts and being like, oh, I'm real close to the president. I'll get you some access. Like, he is a bad person. He's a bad person. And the thing.

[JVL]

Excuse me.

[Sonny Bunch]

And the thing.

[JVL]

Excuse me.

[Sam Stein]

Excuse me.

[Sonny Bunch]

Yes, please.

[JVL]

If you learned that drill was a bad person, would you not follow him for the art?

[Sonny Bunch]

I don't. He's natively a bad. I don't know. I don't know. He's not the son of the president. He's not involved in national politics.

[JVL]

Work of art and not the artist.

[Sam Stein]

You're over complicating it.

[Sonny Bunch]

No, but, but, but, but the problem is the art and the person and the politics are all kind of irrevocably wound up in each other. This isn't like, oh, a filmmaker made a movie and then donated to a politician. I don. It's. He exists. His existence is an affront to all decent people like I. I'm sorry, he's just, he, He's a bad person and like the badness. The badness of the art. Okay, let's get some more examples in here.

[JVL]

Seven years sober today. Thank you to everyone who has walked this road with me. Boiler grad. Hey, Purdue Berg. Hey, Purdue guy. We see you.

[Sam Stein]

Bullshit.

[JVL]

That was your bag of coke in the White House. Hunter Biden most definitely was not. I would never have forgotten my drugs.

[Sam Stein]

I thought that was good.

[JVL]

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

[Sam Stein]

That's really funny.

[Sonny Bunch]

I just, I. But I also just don't believe him, frankly. I believe that was probably.

[Sam Stein]

You thought it was his bag of coke.

[Sonny Bunch]

I think it's probably his bag of drugs. If it's not his bag of drugs, he knew. He probably knew whose bag of drugs it was.

[Sam Stein]

No, no. Elsewhere he went on, because I've been reading a lot of these tweets. They're now being fed to me in the algorithm. Elsewhere, he wanted to explain that he never snorted coke, he was just smoking crack. And so that was definitely not his bag of drugs because that was powderized coke. There you go, case closed.

[Sonny Bunch]

Fair enough. Fair enough. No, no, look again. Some of the tweets are kind of funny, but again, they're all kind of half baked. He is doing the thing that is very smart for a person like him to do, which is to humanize himself, which is to reply to random people. Because random people get very excited when a large follower account replies them. That just is like, it's a natural order of things. So he's very good at it in that sense. I guess I'll give him credit for that. But like, I don't find his tweets that funny. Frankly, I think he's not that funny. I think he's not a drill caliber poster. He is not. He just is. He is just. He's just acknowledging his foibles which like, okay, fine, but you know, finding a

[Sam Stein]

doctor you actually like feels like discovering a diamond in the rough. And yeah, you want someone who's in network, you want someone who's nearby, you want someone with open time slots. You want someone who's kind of nice and cool and easy to get along with and doesn't scare the hell out of you. But let's be honest, that's just the start. You also deserve someone who really listens, who makes you feel comfortable, who calms your nerves. You're diamond, the rough doctor. Thankfully, they do exist and finding them is easy. You just got to go to zocdoc Zocdoc is a free app and a website that helps you find and book high quality in network doctors so you can find someone who you love. Take this. As someone who has grown up with two parents who were doctors, I love them.

[JVL]

They're great.

[Sam Stein]

Finding people like that, it's a life changer. So stop putting off those doctor appointments and go to zocdoc.com bulwarktakes to find and instantly book a doctor who you love. Today may not be my parents, but it could be close. That's z o c-o c.com bulwarktakes zocdoc.com Bor Takes thanks to Zocdoc for sponsoring this message.

[JVL]

May I ask a semi serious question about this ludicrous subject? Is it possible that Hunter could make a move at some point politically, something in the culture as a podcast host?

[Sam Stein]

Oh, yeah.

[JVL]

A presidential candidate, A couple. Governor or Senate. I don't know. All I'm saying is if in the middle of news radio, I had come to you, Sam, and said, see that guy who, you know, the guy who's like the weird techie guy in the in on news radio, someday he's going to be the single most important voice in American culture and he will interview presidential candidates and his imprimatur will decide the fate of the American empire. You would have said that's fucking preposterous. Is that more preposterous than Hunter Biden could run for an office?

[Sonny Bunch]

No.

[Sam Stein]

Well, okay, run for office. Not. Hold on, let me first off, run for office. I think no, because it's not nothing to do with the drug use and, and all the stuff that Sunny went through. I just think people really dislike the Bidens in the Democratic Party at this point in time for everything Sunny talked about. I don't know if you guys have been following the Joe Biden book chart all but, like, no one wants this.

[Sonny Bunch]

No one wants this.

[Sam Stein]

No one wants this. No one wants this. She's, she's like starting fights with Andrew Bates, who is like the biggest Biden Baghdad defender of all time. Baghdad Bob, defender of all time. And like, there's no point to this in this book and who's going to buy it? And no one wants anything to do. Bynes. That said, I could easily see, like, him having some sort of media turn here. Right? He's already gone on a couple of these podcast shows he went on with Candace, which was really weird. But like, you know, there's obviously a future for someone who is, you know, willing to be self Deprecating and say provocative shit. And he's got name and ID and look, there's like seven or so open slots at 60 minutes right now, and they gotta fill them.

[JVL]

Next on 60 Minutes, Hunter Biden.

[Sonny Bunch]

No, I think, I think he could absolutely be a podcaster or YouTuber type or even, even a television presence. I think our friend Mark Caputo tweeted something like, whoever snaps him up is. Is.

[JVL]

People are looking.

[Sam Stein]

I think people are offering now.

[Sonny Bunch]

And, and, and I love Mark. I love Mark. I wish, I wish he had never left.

[JVL]

We should bring him this for the bull war.

[Sonny Bunch]

But I, if we, if that would be a disaster, it'd be a terrible idea. The. But it's, it's. It's a. I, I just like, I, I love Mark. And he's probably right that there, there's probably eyeballs to be made there and there's probably money to be made there because people, people will tune in for the inevitable relapse and train wreck because it's gonna happen like jbl, me. Or maybe it was you. Sam said something, said something at the beginning. He. He's clearly addicted to it. He's clearly addicted to Twitter. He is absolutely addicted to like, getting that notification and responding to it and then getting the dopamine hit off the likes and the retweets. And like, I, We've all been there. I have been there. Certainly I had Rich for you to

[JVL]

be talking about that.

[Sonny Bunch]

I. Well, this is, this is the thing. I have actually. I have actually self consciously had to scale back my use of Twitter because I found it turning me into a bad person. And this is why. This is the area in which he is best suited for all of this stuff because he is an amoral sociopath. So, like, he is absolutely going to be good at things like Twitter, podcasting, YouTubing, whatever. If you're willing to go on Candace Owens and be like, yeah, you know what you making. Making a lot of good points. Like, what else are we. What are we supposed to expect from this guy?

[JVL]

Yeah, let me ask another. Another. This, I ask entirely. Seriously.

[Sam Stein]

Okay.

[Sonny Bunch]

Yeah.

[JVL]

Ever since the 2024 election, there have been a lot of Democrats and libs rending their garments, asking, how do we get our own Joe Rogan? How do we get a guy who exists in this cultural space who isn't politics all the time, who appeals to, like, Burning man and divorced dads and UFC fans and, and just knows how to be, like, likable and plain spoken and yeah, he's a little crazy. He's a little off and, you know, but he's not fully respectable. But why can't Hunter Biden be the Democrats? Joe Rogan discuss.

[Sam Stein]

Oh, God.

[Sonny Bunch]

Sam, I'm gonna let you tackle this one first because I do think there is like a real strategic problem of him being the kingmaker for the party in the same way that Joe Rogan.

[JVL]

I'm not saying.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, I mean, I'm just saying he.

[JVL]

Why couldn't he wind up being the guy who hosts phenomenally popular podcast that is like 15 politics, but is mostly culture and.

[Sam Stein]

Because what is it? Well, yeah, so I guess the real, the, the first thing that comes to my mind about why that wouldn't work is because what is he without politics? Like, no one goes to Hunter because they think he's a world class artist. Right. Like, no one's talking to Hunter because he's like sports.

[JVL]

He'll bring on people.

[Sam Stein]

Does he. Do we know if he knows anything about sports? What do we know but that Hunter knows about anything?

[JVL]

Of course he does. The, the actuarial tables are clear. Middle aged white guys, they're into sports.

[Sonny Bunch]

I mean, sure. FanDuel account. You think he's doing parlays?

[JVL]

He's probably got parlays he has on guests and they talk and they shoot the shit and he's a good hang.

[Sam Stein]

So you. It sounds like you think I'm turning it on tables. I need sounds like you think there's potential here for him to have some sort of cross cultural appeal podcast. That.

[JVL]

This is what I'm saying. He starts out as just a famous guy and people expect him to do like politics, but he's not really. He just becomes part of the cultural furniture.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah, I mean, that would truly be wild, honestly. I mean, what a, what a redemption arc if that were the case from. I guess the other problem is that he, everyone assumes that he more or less cost while him and his family cost the election and gave it to Trump. And so you have to get over a lot of emotional hurdle to be like, yeah, we're gonna elevate this guy into our cultural zeitgeist.

[Sonny Bunch]

Yeah. I mean, this is, again, this is the big problem with the Bidens writ large is that anytime, anytime Hunter Biden is in the news, you just say like, wait, the guy who again, was like, playing off of his proximity to the president to enrich himself and was, you know, a horrible addict and, and, and along with his mother, was really trying to keep Joe in the race at a point where it was very obvious he should not be there anymore. I've written about this for us. The, the Joe Biden pardon of Hunter after promising not to really cuts the legs out of all of the. It cuts the legs out of many of the moral arguments against Donald Trump doing the same thing. Like it's an abuse of power and it just reminds everybody what it does. What it does is it says to the normie out there, well, you know, you say, my theory is all politics is corrupt all politics. Joe. Joe Biden and Donald Trump flip sides of the same coin. Donald Trump's out there making deals for himself. Joe Biden's out there making deals for himself. Hunter Biden's out there making deals for himself. Donald Trump Jr. Is out there making deals for them. So why do I care? Why, why, how, why should I have to be the moral one here? And that. I find that really corrosive not to be Pollyanna over here. I find that really corrosive to the public health of the country. I just think it's bad. I think it's bad. I think it's bad and I think he is bad. And I just wish he would go away.

[Sam Stein]

Being bad is different than what JBL is asking, which is could it work?

[Sonny Bunch]

No.

[JVL]

But I think a successful cross cultural podcast, something called. And I'm just spitballing here, spit it. Hunter Biden is posting through it. He talks about his addiction stuff. Would you listen to Rex Chapman and Hunter Biden just having a talk about what life has been like for them? I bet it'd be pretty interesting.

[Sonny Bunch]

I wouldn't. I wouldn't.

[Sam Stein]

Not that duo. I think I need a little bit more love.

[JVL]

Rational.

[Sam Stein]

I want a little bit more. Maybe if it was Victor Wembanyama and Hunter, I'd listen to that.

[JVL]

Guys, I'm telling you, if Hunter's agent is listening, call me up, we'll talk about this. I feel like there is a show.

[Sonny Bunch]

I don't think you're wrong. And this is like the real pulling. This is actually. I think this would actually probably do pretty well, frankly. Brought to you by the Bulwark.

[JVL]

Hunter Biden is posting through it. Sarah's head is exploding right now.

[Sonny Bunch]

It would be a top 20 substack. You know, it would be, you know, we'd be competing with them and, you know, we'd be taking screenshots of Tim next. Tim's head with the Bulwark podcast next to Joe Biden or under Hunter Biden's head on his podcast. We'd be like, look at, look at the charts. And it would drive me. I would actually might. I might have to go live on an island when that happens because I just can't. My heart can't take it.

[Sam Stein]

Go to the Albanian island that Ivanka's buying.

[JVL]

I just want everybody to think about this. Not in moral terms, but in content terms. Would it be tremendous content? I think it would. Sam Stein, Sonny Bunch. Thanks for being with us, everybody. Hit, like hit. Subscribe. Follow the channel. We'll be back with more terrible news about the country soon. Good luck, America.