Navy Roberts has been rescued from her nonperson status with her grandpa, who is the President of the United States.  The 4-year-old offspring of Hunter Biden and former stripper Lunden Roberts has been completely shunned by Joe and Jill Biden, who pointedly boasted of their devotion to their other grandchildren while refusing to acknowledge Navy’s existence.

But, 2 days after Hinter’s sweetheart plea deal imploded in the courtroom of Judge Maryellen Noreika, suddenly Biden found the will to mention Navy for the very first time. Not out loud, much less on camera, but with a statement issued to People Magazine, which immediately featured it:

President Joe Biden has offered his first statement on 4-year-old grandchild Navy Joan Roberts, the daughter of Hunter Biden and Lunden Roberts, an Arkansas woman who filed a paternity suit against the president's son in May 2019.

“Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward," President Biden said in a statement provided exclusively to PEOPLE.

Navy, one of the president's seven grandchildren, has recently been the subject of headlines as Republicans have criticized the president for previously touting his "six grandchildren."

"This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter," President Biden's statement continues. "Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”

William Jacobson, founder of Legal Insurrection, nailed part of it when he wrote:

… “Grandpa” Joe tossed Hunter’s daughter Navy a verbal bone during an interview with People magazine. Just a bone, mentioning her name, nothing more. [italics in original] (snip)

…we’re entering an election year, his popularity is low, and the internal polling and focus groups must have been brutal. The false narrative of loving Grandpa Joe, concocted for the 2020 election, couldn’t last when he ignored the existence of a poltically (sic) inconvenient grandaughter (sic). A granddaughter not even allowed to use the Biden name.

An unnamed source told People:

…the recently resolved child support dispute between Hunter and Lunden has dictated how the relationship has played out so far.

"You have to remember there were some fairly contentious legal proceedings between Navy’s parents happening until just a few weeks ago. As grandparents, the Bidens are following Hunter’s lead," the source says, adding, "They are — and have been — giving Hunter and Lunden the space and time to figure things out."

Is this supposed to justify freezing Navy out, pretending that she didn’t exist? Does “giving space” mean “denying existence”?

The anonymous source continued:

“Thousands of families have faced similar circumstances, working it out in private, versus the spotlight," the source says. "At the center is a 4-year-old girl and everyone wants what is best for her, including all of her grandparents.”

Actually, no. Thousands of families have not publicly pretended for 4 years that one of the grandchildren doesn’t exist, despite  widespread criticism in the media.

In addition to Joe’s popularity problems cited by Bill Jacobson, I have to believe that Hunter Biden’s legal jeopardy had a bug influence on the reversal of policy on Navy. If pleading for mercy from the court, it helps to pretend that you have a loving and caring relationship with the child whose paternity you denied until forced to acknowledge it by another court. Having your parent freeze her out after your own years of neglect doesn’t generate a lot of judicial sympathy.