In her newinterviewwithHunter Biden, the right-wing influencerCandace Owensexplains the revelation that made her want to sit down with former president Joe Biden’s disgraced son. “I just didn’t even consider: He’s a crackhead,” she recounted. “That’s actually a very relatable thing.”

In reality, Owens spent years calling Biden a crackhead on her popular podcast. But more recently, she’s apparently taken to describing him as her dream guest. After the pair were connected by podcaster Shawn Ryan, Biden sat down for a two-hour interview at Owens’ Nashville home studio in what is one of the year’s most surprising pairings.Â

“The truth of the matter is I was a crackhead,” Biden admitted. He later explained how to make crack from cocaine.Â

Owens was transfixed. “I am most interested in the addiction story,” she replied.Â

That is how we arrived at the surreal sight of Hunter Biden — a longtime fixation of right-wing media — warmly embracing one of the most influential promoters of antisemitism as “the most effective communicator behind a microphone.”

The interview quickly racked up over 1.1 million views in less than 24 hours and was accompanied by a flood of YouTube comments praising Owens for humanizing addiction and bringing hope to a polarized nation.

The thing is: The interview, a bizarre attempt at mutual rehabilitation, is a compelling listen, I am sorry to say. Biden discussed addiction, suicide attempts and public humiliation with a bluntness that occasionally bordered on genuinely moving. Owens, to her credit, did not interrupt him with gotcha questions or cheap shots.

The gleeful cruelty with which the right-wing media machine has mocked people who suffer from addiction while ignoring their own complicity in the stigma is shameful. When Owens apologized to Biden for years of mockery — telling him she felt “sh*tty” about reducing him to a caricature at his lowest moments — the exchange carried real human weight.Â

But a warranted apology from Candace Owens does not redeem her. In any case, that is not actually what the interview was about.

The Owens-Biden collaboration is about the emergence of a new cross-partisan media ecosystem built around conspiracy, alienation and mutual distrust of institutions

Source: Drudge Report