Biden’s team was waiting for a Hunter verdict. That didn’t make it easier when it arrived.

Joe Biden and his campaign long expected that the federal gun trial involving the president's son, Hunter, might not end well.

But the younger Biden’s guilty verdict on Tuesday on three felony charges stemming from his purchase of a handgun in 2018 still provided a major test of their plans to manage the fallout. And, in some cases, forced a readjustment.

The president learned of the conviction while in the White House preparing for an event on gun safety. He was set to hurry home Tuesday afternoon for an unscheduled visit to Wilmington to see his son before departing for a high-stakes trip to Italy for the G7 summit.

Just miles away, his team held a series of conversations at their campaign headquarters to discuss the potential aftershocks from the verdict, according to three Biden officials familiar with internal dynamics who were granted anonymity to relay details of them.

The general belief among aides is that it will not change the trajectory of the race but will likely become a focal point of the upcoming debate with Donald Trump. Aides discussed the possibility that the former president would use the forum to badger Biden as an inadequate father. More broadly, they anticipate that Trump-allied groups and even GOP lawmakers will incorporate the trial into attack lines through the summer.

While the White House insisted there would be no changes in how the president approaches the upcoming summit — with Biden heading to Italy on Wednesday — aides also conceded that there would be a great emotional toll placed on the president during that trip.

Biden had been consumed with the trial for weeks and asked family members for updates when he was on a trip to France for the annual D-Day commemorations, according to two of those people not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations. The president has expressed guilt over the spotlight his career has placed on his son, going so far as to say he believes it’s contributed to his legal troubles.

“If I weren’t running for reelection, he would have gotten the plea deal,” Biden told a confidant earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

Hunter Biden was offered a plea deal that would have spared him prison time before it fell apart last July, just minutes before it was set to become official. Now, the younger Biden could face up to 25 years in prison. His sentencing date will likely come this fall.

President Biden, who was set to be joined by his family at his Wilmington home Tuesday night, planned to check on his son every day during the trip, which comes in the wake of consequential European elections and includes an appearance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Beyond that, there were not expected to be any changes in his plans. Nor were there alterations on Tuesday. The president and his team did not change his remarks on Tuesday on gun violence. During that address, he made no mention of his son.