Hunter Biden’s latest indictment brings an uncomfortable ordeal to the forefront for his father

President Joe Biden is confronting the prospect of his son Hunter facing an embarrassing legal ordeal next year amid a host of other political obstacles in a possible rematch with Donald Trump.

The additional criminal charges brought by the Justice Department against Hunter Biden on Thursday, though expected, nonetheless amounted to a reminder of the personal strain the president will face as he gears up for the coming campaign.

Months after a plea agreement for Hunter Biden collapsed in a Delaware courtroom, reality has set in among Biden’s team that his son’s legal problems – and the ensuing revelations about his lifestyle and struggles with addiction – will remain in the news cycle for months to come as the legal process plays out.

Prosecutors’ portrait of Hunter Biden’s unbridled vice – funded, in part, by leveraging the Biden family name – presents a deeply problematic image at a moment when Republicans are searching for ways to damage the president politically. Those GOP efforts have in no small part been driven by a desire to distract from the four indictments leveled at Trump, the current Republican presidential front-runner.

Biden’s aides argue vociferously that any comparisons with the former president’s legal problems are in bad faith since the charges are of vastly differing levels of severity and Trump is himself running for president while Hunter is not. So far, no evidence has emerged showing President Biden benefited from his son’s foreign business dealings. And Biden’s team is confident voters will make their decision for reasons other than the president’s troubled son.

Still, the unveiling of the special counsel’s second case against Hunter Biden comes at an inopportune moment, as the election year looms and Biden’s vulnerabilities are laid bare. His approval ratings have slumped as the American public continues to feel pessimistic about the health of the economy and increasingly question Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war – a conflict that has been an overwhelming focus for the White House over the last two months.

The latest jobs report on Friday, which showed yet another month of solid growth, served as one more reminder of a seemingly intractable problem for the Biden White House: A robust economy, by any measure, that still isn’t translating to optimism for most Americans.

And this week, Biden – on several occasions – injected some ambiguity about his reelection rationale. “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running,” he told donors.

The next day, Biden was asked by CNN whether he believed any other Democrat could defeat Trump other than him. He responded: “Probably 50 of them.”

“I’m not the only one who could defeat him. But I will defeat him,” Biden said.

Those comments appeared to dilute a key argument his advisers make about his reelection bid: that Biden is best – or at the very least, uniquely – suited to take on Trump.