Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden excluded his controversial son Hunter from the family's Christmas greeting, a move that backfired by attracting unwanted attention over social media during the holidays.
Twitter was quick to notice that the Biden family photo was missing Hunter, who has become a central player in the year's Washington drama amid criticism for having held a highly paid position on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings from 2014 until this year.
Hundreds of tweets asked where Hunter was. The photo, signed "from my family to yours," featured Biden and wife Jill, their daughter Ashley, and five grandchildren, including Hunter's three daughters from an earlier marriage.
The omission of Hunter was arguably an embarrassment for Biden, who's vying for the Democratic nomination in 2020. While he may have tried to portray a happy family enjoying themselves over Christmas, the social media masses were quick to question his decision to distance himself from his son. Hunter's second wife, Melissa Cohen, who is pregnant, also wasn't in the greeting.
The Biden Christmas card was accompanied by a video that featured the former vice president's two German shepherd dogs.
The social media roasting had parallels across the pond, after Queen Elizabeth II gave her annual Christmas Day speech surrounded by photographs of her family. Not included in the tableau was a photo of Prince Harry, wife Meghan Markle and baby Archie. Second son Prince Andrew, embroiled in scandal for his friendship with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, was also nowhere in sight.
