The timing was deliberate. On the exact one-year anniversary of his father’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race, Hunter Biden sat down for a blisteringly candid, three-hour interview with independent journalist Andrew Callaghan of Channel 5. Released on July 21, 2025, the interview wasn’t just a reflection—it was a Molotov cocktail hurled at old wounds, political rivals, and the very narratives that have defined his tumultuous public life 18.
The Clooney Vendetta: “Fuck Him and Everybody Around Him”
Hunter’s most explosive vitriol targeted George Clooney, whose New York Times op-ed in July 2024 became the catalyst for Joe Biden’s exit from the election. “Fuck him!” Hunter seethed. “What right do you have to step on a man who’s given 52 years of his fucking life to the service of this country?” He dismissed Clooney as “not a fucking actor” but “a brand,” echoing Quentin Tarantino’s past jabs 18.
Behind the rage, Hunter suggested Clooney’s anger stemmed from Joe Biden’s criticism of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Amal Clooney, George’s wife, was part of the legal team that recommended the warrant. “He was very angry that my dad did not pay homage to her,” Hunter claimed, painting Clooney’s intervention as personal, not principled 1.
Ambien and the Debate Debacle: A New Revelation
For the first time, Hunter detailed a critical factor in his father’s disastrous June 2024 debate against Donald Trump: prescription sleeping pills. “He flew around the world… he’s tired as shit, they give him Ambien to be able to sleep. He gets up on stage and looks like a deer in the headlights,” Hunter revealed 51. This admission shifts the long-blamed “cold” narrative and offers a tangible explanation for Joe Biden’s visibly disoriented performance—a moment that ultimately led to his withdrawal 58.
Denials, Pardons, and the Weight of Prosecution
Amid an FBI probe into cocaine found in a White House locker in 2023—a case Republicans linked to him—Hunter fiercely denied involvement: “I have been clean and sober since June 2019. Why would I bring cocaine into the White House?” 21. His sobriety claim is central to his identity reset, detailed in his memoir Beautiful Things, where he admits past struggles with “a handle of vodka a day” and crack cocaine 12.
He also addressed his father’s controversial preemptive pardon for gun and tax charges in December 2024. While Joe Biden framed it as protection against “selective prosecution,” Special Counsel David Weiss condemned the move for “malign[ing] the justice system” 6. Hunter, however, framed it as necessary amid what he calls an “abuse of prosecutorial power” 611.
Financial Ruin and Retreating from Legal Fights
In a stark admission, Hunter’s lawyers revealed he is “facing severe financial difficulties” and cannot afford to continue his lawsuit against Garrett Ziegler, a Trump aide who published emails from his infamous laptop 11. Once selling art for $54,500 per piece, Hunter has sold only one work for $36,000 in the past 18 months. Book sales for Beautiful Things plummeted by 65%, and a Pacific Palisades wildfire destroyed his rental home, compounding his instability 11. This withdrawal marks a tactical retreat from a saga that began in 2020, when the laptop’s “seedy contents” fueled Republican attacks 311.
Immigration Fury and Hypocrisy Exposed?
In one of the interview’s most jarring segments, Hunter lambasted Trump’s deportation policies: “It’s a fucking crime what they’re doing.” He defended undocumented immigrants—“Who do you think washes your dishes?”—and blasted Democrats for appeasing “Trumpian” white voters 10. Yet, this stance clashes with a 2018 police report where Hunter, after discarding a gun near a grocery store, referred to passing “Mexican males” as “prolly illegal” 10. The contradiction underscores his complex, often contradictory, relationship with public judgment.
Sobriety as Armor: “I Have No More Secrets”
Throughout the interview, Hunter returned to his sobriety as both shield and redemption. “The favor [my critics] did for me is that I don’t have any more secrets,” he stated, arguing that public exposure broke his cycle of shame and relapse 12. His acknowledgment of alcohol as “the most destructive drug”—more than crack—reveals a hard-won self-awareness 12.
The Political Fallout: A Gift to the GOP?
Hunter’s outbursts land as House Republicans investigate Joe Biden’s mental acuity during his presidency. His Ambien claim and Clooney tirade offer fresh ammunition, while Weiss’s report condemning the pardon as eroding “public confidence” in justice amplifies conservative critiques 56. Even some Democrats, like ex-Obama aide Tommy Vietor, labeled the Biden family’s approach “arrogant” 1.
Conclusion: The Unmanageable Son in the Shadow of Power
Hunter Biden remains a Rorschach test for America’s political psyche: to some, a victim of partisan warfare; to others, a symbol of elite impunity. His Channel 5 interview lays bare a man wrestling with legacy, addiction, and a lifetime as a political prop. The financial woes, the legal retreats, and the raw, unfiltered rage suggest a figure still seeking redemption—on his own terms, in a nation that can’t look away.
As he himself put it: “I’m still appropriately paying the price” 12. The reckoning, it seems, is far from over.
My name is Raushan Kumar Jha i am a professional blogger, content strategist, and SEO expert. I write about famous personalities, health, fitness, and finance on WorldsLegends.com. With six years of experience and a commerce background, crafts engaging, well-researched content that ranks higher and captivates audiences.
