Former President Donald Trump called out President Joe Biden for allowing his son to sell his art to anonymous buyers, calling it a “100 percent bribe.”
Trump raised questions about Hunter Biden’s skill as an artist and the questionable handling guidelines set to sell his art anonymously during a Turning Point Action event in Arizona on Saturday.
“What about Hunter Biden getting a half a million dollars per painting, and he never painted before?” Trump asked. “Could you imagine if my kids did that?”
Hunter Biden’s paintings are priced between $75,000 and $500,000 apiece.
Trump noted street artists in New York City’s Central Park could produce better art than Hunter Biden, just for $250.
“Hunter Biden’s getting $500,000,” Trump marveled. “It’s a bribe. It’s disgraceful, and the fake news media is talking about it like it’s okay, but we should have transparency. It’s unbelievable.”
The former president also ridiculed the guidelines surrounding the art sales, allowing Hunter Biden to meet potential buyers at an art show despite claiming the buyers would remain anonymous.
The memoir published by Hunter Biden, “Beautiful Things, A Memoir” is seen in a book store on its release day in Washington, DC. In an interview with the BBC released April 6, 2021 — to mark the publication of his new memoir, “Beautiful Things” — Hunter Biden confirmed in part allegations by Republicans he benefited from his family name when his father was vice president. (AGNES BUN/AFP via Getty)
‘[N]ow they’re justifying it, ‘Well, we want to make it non-transparent.’ No, actually you should make it transparent, I guess,” he said.
Questions also surround Hunter Biden’s art dealer George Bergès, who maintains “strong ties to China” and was sued for fraud and breach of contract in 2016.
The White House has defended Hunter Biden’s procedure to keep purchasers of his art anonymous, refusing to provide transparency.
“We believe that Hunter Biden, just like any child of a president, should be able to pursue their professions and their passions,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said to reporters during the daily briefing on Thursday.
Psaki insisted the system was “reasonable” and included “appropriate safeguards” to prevent corruption.
She said although Hunter Biden could meet with potential buyers at the art gallery show, he had agreed not to discuss art sales with anyone.
Political ethics experts have criticized the decision to keep the names of the art purchasers anonymous.
“Their solution of transparency is to actually hide who is engaged in the transaction. It’s ludicrous,” said Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) in an interview with Fox Business.
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