Michael LaRosa, once upon a time tied to the Biden White House as Jill Biden’s longstanding press secretary, opened a can of worms about the administration’s sly tactics to disguise former President Biden’s aging struggles. His revelations point towards a concerted effort by Biden’s team to avoid putting the then-President in front of the media spotlight, only to maintain a facade of competence. The 2024 presidential campaign saw several media figures naively rush to Biden’s side, whenever his mental fitness (or the evident lack thereof) was in question, including stories around his increasing forgetfulness and unfavorable viral videos portraying his incoherence. Now, LaRosa is unearthing the veil of deception his colleagues yoked to the public and journalists alike, concerning Biden’s age-related predicaments.
LaRosa, although reticent to brand these manipulations as a ‘cover-up,’ did not refrain from acknowledging that the White House had been clued in about Biden’s aging issues from ‘day one.’ Furthermore, he mentioned his colleagues’ masterful diversion to downplay data demonstrating Biden’s stalling popularity as the 2024 election approached. Notwithstanding polling results where a lion’s share of Americans felt Biden was too decrepit for another term in office, journalists summarily dismissed such health-related inquiries, writing them off as unfounded conservative theories.
Biden’s subpar performance during a debate in June substantiated these concerns and caught mainstream attention, leading to growing calls for his exit from the race. ‘There was an abundance of reality denial. The way they manipulated the narrative can indeed be called gaslighting,’ LaRosa emphasized, highlighting how his associates refused to accept the damning polls. Instead, the ordained discourse was to convince people that it was still early days, and these poll results were essentially inconsequential.
The data, once the Holy Grail for the White House while Biden was leading, was suddenly dismissed as irrelevant when his numbers tapered off, as LaRosa explains. Their response further revealed the selective bias of the administration towards incoming information. He also voiced sharp criticisms against the way the administration lashed out against well-known media outlets like The New York Times, which started to tackle the polling and age issues in 2024.
Early in Biden’s administration, some close advisers had already expressed their concerns regarding the former president’s health. Brushed off by the White House, queries about his cognitive capabilities were dismissed, and any disconcerting video evidence was ridiculed as ‘cheap fakes.’ These tactics only further highlighted the deceptive narrative being spun by Biden’s team.
As per LaRosa’s account, if you were sifting through information diligently and processing it objectively, there was nothing surprising about the unfolding events. The former White House official laid bare the significant apprehension among Biden’s team, stating that they were ‘scared to death’ of letting the President off his leash in spontaneous press interactions. With the hunger games going on in the attention economy, Biden simply couldn’t hold his ground.
LaRosa vented his frustration at Biden’s team, stating, ‘They were inadequately prepared and lacked the know-how. Nor did they have a suitable candidate in Biden, though he would have given his all. He thrives on TV, enjoys being busy. Yet, the walls around him did not trust him,’ creating a gross narrative of mistrust within his very circle.