Former President Donald Trump offered rare words of empathy to President Biden this week regarding the impacts of addiction.
Trump told Fox News during a Thursday interview that he understood well the negative effect that addiction can have on a family, speaking from personal experience.
“I understand it pretty well, because I’ve had it with people who have it in their family,” Trump told Fox News. “It’s a very tough thing.”
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Former President Donald Trump giving a speech at a rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Trump did not offer specific details regarding which member or members of his family he was referring to — but his brother, Fred Trump, openly wrestled with alcoholism for years.
Fred Trump’s addiction eventually compromised his day-to-day life and contributed to the heart attack that took his life in 1981.
“It’s a very tough situation for a father; it’s a very tough situation for a brother or sister; and it goes on, and it’s not stopping, whether it’s alcohol or drugs or whatever it may be,” Trump continued in the interview with Fox News.
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Hunter Biden, son of Joe Biden, arrives to the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
He added, “It’s a tough thing, and so that’s a tough moment for the family. It’s a tough moment for any family involved in that.”
Trump has previously attributed his decision to refrain from alcohol to his brother, who he says warned him to never drink alcohol.
First son Hunter Biden was found guilty Tuesday on all charges related to making a false statement about the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
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Biden speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Hunter Biden has a well-documented history of drug abuse, which was most notably documented in his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things.”
The memoir walks readers through his previous need to smoke crack cocaine every 20 minutes, how his addiction was so prolific that he referred to himself as a “crack daddy” to drug dealers, and anecdotes revolving around drug deals, such as a Washington, D.C., crack dealer Hunter nicknamed “Bicycles.”
President Biden has expressed unconditional love and support for his son despite the high-profile battle with substance abuse.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
