Hunter Biden, former U.S. President Joe Biden’s son, genuinely said he would consider running with California Gov. Gavin Newsom as his vice-presidential running mate in 2028.
Hunter Biden made a remark about running with Newsom in the 2028 presidential election. However …
… evidence, including proof from Newsom’s podcast and a separate Biden X post, shows Biden intended the comment as a joke.
In June 2026, social media users claimed that Hunter Biden, former U.S. President Joe Biden’s son, genuinely said he would consider being California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s running mate in the 2028 presidential election.
For example, on June 11, a user managing the online betting platform Polymarket’s X account posted (archived), “JUST IN: Hunter Biden announces he’s officially considering a 2028 campaign, but only as Gavin Newsom’s VP.”
(@Polymarket accessed via X)
Other users shared posts advancing the idea Biden genuinely announced the consideration, including on Bluesky (archived), Instagram (archived), LinkedIn (archived) and X (archived). The New York Post similarly reported the headline, “Hunter Biden teases massive new role with Gavin Newsom,” and TMZ (archived) published, “Hunter Biden says he’d run in 2028 with Gavin Newsom.”
(@PopCrave accessed via X)
In sum, while Biden commented on running with Newsom, evidence shows he intended the remark as a joke rather than a serious announcement. As such, we rated the claim as a mixture of truth and falsehood.
Snopes contacted Biden to request official confirmation that he intended the comment as a joke. Newsom has not made an official announcement about running for president in 2028.
Origin of the rumor
This matter pertained to Biden’s June 2026 appearance on Newsom’s podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom.” At the beginning of the podcast episode — a moment TMZ highlighted with a special video clip on June 11 before the full episode’s release — Newsom, while smiling, introduces Biden as a 2028 presidential candidate. Biden also smiles, jokingly answering, “Here’s the deal. I’ll run, but only as your VP, because the truth of the matter is the vice president’s residence is a lot cooler. It’s a lot easier job too.”
The 53-second mark in the full podcast episode — released on June 12 — reveals both men laughed in the moment immediately after the end of the advance TMZ preview clip.
In addition to the smiles and laughs, Biden later further confirmed on X he intended the comment as a joke. In a June 12 post (archived), he said, “Just saying… No Democrat has won the White House this century without a Biden on the ticket.” Another user replied (archived), “you lost all aura points trying to run with gavin newsome.” Biden answered (archived), “Jeez man have a sense of humor.”
Despite the New York Post’s headline, the publication’s article labeled Biden’s remark as a joke. TMZ’s story stopped short of declaring his comment as a matter of humor, reporting, “Whether Hunter is serious or simply having some fun with the governor, his 2028 strategy appears simple: let Gavin do the heavy lifting.”
The appearance on Newsom’s podcast followed Biden’s recent opening up on X, announcing he has been free of drugs and alcohol for seven years. His X account bio read, “Artist. Author. Recovery Advocate.”
Biden has taken the opportunity to add a dose of humor to his dialogue, as well. For example, we previously reported that after an X user posted in early June 2026, “That was your bag of coke in the White House,” Biden truly responded, “It most definitely was not. I would never have forgotten my drugs.”
