Hunter Biden told an interviewer that Vice President Kamala Harris “is not a very good politician,” questioned aspects of her loyalty to President Biden, and suggested she could have handled messaging differently while praising her service.

Hunter Biden sat down with podcaster Mehdi Hasan and did not pull punches about how he views Vice President Kamala Harris’s political instincts. He raised doubts about her approach to building a distinct identity from President Joe Biden and revisited a line he has used before, calling her “not a very good politician.” The comment landed in the middle of an exchange that also touched on campaign strategy and money.

Hasan reminded Hunter of past remarks and of Harris being “given only 107 days by your dad to try and win an election.” Hunter answered the short-timed effort with a terse interjection: “And $2 billion.” That exchange framed a larger critique about whether Harris had the room or the messaging to stand apart and build her own case to voters.

The interview turned to Harris’s debate against President Donald Trump and whether her decision to insist there was no daylight between her and Joe Biden hurt her. Hasan argued that standing so close to the former president “cost her the presidency” because she “stayed loyal.” Hasan then summed up the moment: “And many would say, here you are throwing her under the bus, saying she’s not a very good politician,” which pushed Hunter into a measured defense and critique at once.

Hunter replied with a statement that mixed praise and criticism: “Here’s what I’d also like to say about the vice president,” Hunter replied. “I think that the vice president served the country incredibly well and that she has a deep …rich future in politics. Whether she wants to run for president again, she’ll be one of the— if not the front-runner. But she’s not a very good politician either.” Those lines underline a split view: respect for service paired with doubts about political skill.

When Hasan pushed for specifics, Hunter suggested Harris could have carved out clearer policy and rhetorical space while still celebrating the administration’s record. He said, “She can make daylight between herself and my dad, but not in terms of what they were able to accomplish over that four-year period.” He also flagged foreign policy as an area where independent stances could matter, naming Gaza and Israel as topics where she might “stake her own ground on that.”

Biden later questioned how loyal Harris truly was to his father, framing loyalty as more complicated than surface appearances. “So I think people go like, ‘well, she was so loyal to your dad and she didn’t do this and that and the other thing.’ Well, maybe from your perspective, but maybe not from mine,” he said. When pressed on details, Hunter kept it curt: “That’s between me and her.”

As Hasan continued, Hunter clarified the nuance he was describing: “Let me just state it exactly clearly. I think that she was loyal to my father, and I don’t think that she was loyal to a fault, however.” Those words are likely to be replayed by political opponents and ammunition for critics who say the Democratic bench needs new voices and clearer messaging.

Reaction inside the Democratic coalition has been mixed, reflecting a split between those who still view Harris as a top-tier candidate and those who argue the party would benefit from fresh leadership. Polling has sometimes put her near the front among Democratic voters, yet detractors point to the 2024 loss and argue that overcoming that narrative will be difficult. The back-and-forth with Hunter feeds both hopeful and skeptical takes within the party.

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From a Republican perspective the exchange is straightforward: friends and foes admitting problems is political gold. When a close ally critiques messaging, it reinforces questions about competence and electability that opposition voices will press hard. Whether this shapes a 2028 run for Harris or simply fuels intra-party debate, the comments hand Republicans a clearer script to use on the campaign trail.