The former first son is marking seven years of sobriety with a burst of social media activity that has drawn a surprising amount of attention online. Hunter, 56, began posting again on X last month after leaving the account inactive for years. The comeback was unexpected enough that some users initially questioned whether the posts were real.
They were. And the account quickly took off.
Hunter has gained nearly half a million followers, many of whom have responded to his blunt tone, self-deprecating humor and willingness to joke about controversies that once made him a political target.
On Monday, he posted about reaching seven years of sobriety. When one user accused him of being responsible for the bag of cocaine found in the West Wing in 2023, Hunter fired back: “It most definitely was not. I would never have forgotten my drugs.”
The response went viral, drawing more than 242,000 likes.
A few days later, Hunter responded to a photoshopped image that showed him with what appeared to be a drug pipe in his mouth. Rather than ignore it, he corrected the image with a joke.
“I know this may sound petty, but I can’t stand it when people… photoshop a meth pipe in my mouth,” he wrote Thursday. “A crack pipe doesn’t have that little bowl at the end. This is why we can’t trust AI. Please make the appropriate edit. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
That post also caught fire, pulling in more than 146,000 likes. It came in response to a mock Hunter 2028 campaign poster with the slogan, “Let’s smoke the competition.”
Bullshit. That was your bag of coke in the white house
— BoilerGrad (@Boilers32) June 1, 2026
But Hunter has not only been joking. He has also written openly about the misery of addiction and the toll it took on his life.
“There was zero glory in my addiction,” he wrote in one post. “It was truly the most excruciatingly humiliating and degrading experience you could possibly imagine. I wanted to commit suicide almost daily, but didn’t have the courage for even that.”
He continued by describing the cycle of shame, guilt and relapse, before adding that millions of others understand the same struggle.
“We don’t all agree on politics or people or who we root for on Sunday,” he wrote. “But we all have the shared experience of walking through that fire and surviving. I chose to live. That’s not a joke.”
Hunter has also launched a Substack and recently sat for an interview with conservative commentator Candace Owens, who had previously been one of his harshest critics.
At the same time, he has used his renewed platform to defend his family and attack political opponents.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper became one target after criticizing Jill Biden’s memoir. Hunter accused Tapper of “attacking my Mom” and argued that members of the Trump family have not faced the same level of scrutiny for their business ventures.
He pointed to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s reported development plans for an abandoned island off Albania’s coast, Don Jr.’s marriage to Bettina Anderson, whose late father Harry Loy Anderson Jr. was linked to Jeffrey Epstein’s banking, and Eric Trump’s involvement in a merger involving Israeli drone company XTEND.
“And I know: ‘But what about your paintings, Hunter?’” he wrote. “Please.”
Hunter faced years of criticism for selling paintings for six-figure sums while Joe Biden was president. Critics argued the buyers may have been seeking access to the president rather than purchasing art on its merits.
https://t.co/olpdxEJxKb pic.twitter.com/Ey1jVglmG7
— Sound Dobad (@SoundDobad) June 4, 2026
His return to public commentary comes as Democrats continue to debate how the Biden family’s legacy should be remembered, especially after renewed scrutiny of Joe Biden’s health, his decision to seek a second term and Jill Biden’s recent memoir.
Hunter, meanwhile, appears determined to speak for himself.
He has posted nearly 500 times since reviving his X account and warned followers: “This crackhead has a lot to say so buckle your seat belt my friend.”
Even President Trump weighed in Thursday when asked about speculation that Hunter, who has jokingly called himself a “MAGA Whisperer,” could run in 2028.
“You would think that the past has something to do with winning an election. And I would say his past is not the greatest,” Trump said, before adding, “Hey, if the guy from Maine can do well, I guess Hunter could do well.”
Hunter quickly answered: “Did he just say checkered past? I’m 28 felonies, 6 bankruptcies, and an Epstein bromance short of his checkered past.”
By Friday morning, his posts had shifted into something that sounded almost like a campaign message.
“Groceries cost too much. Tariffs suck and make no sense,” he wrote. “The border should be secure, but legal immigration is good. Endless wars are stupid, especially ones that nobody wants and have never been explained. Americans are exhausted.”
