Michael LaRosa, a former senior aide to Joe Biden, has acknowledged that the administration deliberately downplayed concerns over the President’s age and fitness for office, effectively “gaslighting” the American public.
In a report by Puck, LaRosa—who previously served as a White House aide and longtime press secretary for First Lady Jill Biden—revealed that Biden’s campaign recognized from the outset that his age would be a major issue. He further admitted that aides were “scared to death” of allowing the 81-year-old president to engage in unscripted interviews ahead of the election.
Speaking at an American University Science Institute seminar on Wednesday, LaRosa stated, “Cover-up to me is a little hard, a little harsh. Every politician, everybody, every human being tries to cover up age. We were always, from day one, cognizant that age was an issue.”
He continued, “There are some things that are true, I mean, like the gaslighting. There was a lot of denial of the polling. And I will use the term gaslighting because that’s what they were doing, the campaign, former colleagues. The message to everybody was to make sure that you tell people it’s too early.”
According to the New York Post, prior to election day, Biden faced numerous unfavourable polls amid widespread concerns that his increasing verbal mistakes, confusion episodes and physical stumbles indicated age-related cognitive decline. Despite the White House’s persistent assertions about his good health at the time.
LaRosa revealed that internally, Biden’s team was apprehensive about giving him independence. He explained, “The president’s team was scared to death of impromptu, unscripted, unrehearsed, unpracticed, unchoreographed, anything, they couldn’t compete for the attention economy.”
He further elaborated, “They just couldn’t do it. They didn’t have any idea. And they didn’t have the vessel either in Biden, by the way, who would have done anything. He loves TV. He loves doing stuff. It was the orbit that did not trust their own candidate.”
LaRosa concluded by noting, “Biden needed the press. When he needed them the most, they didn’t trust him, they gave him the back foot of the doubt and they put their foot on the gas and never took it off. And he was politically dead.”
According to Daily Mail.com, LaRosa exited the White House after reportedly escorting dates to restricted areas of the president’s hotel during international trips. Subsequently, he emerged as an outspoken critic regarding the security measures implemented for Biden by his protection detail.
“The president’s team was scared to death of impromptu, unscripted, un-rehearsed, unpracticed, un-choreographed, anything, they couldn’t compete for the attention economy, “he told journalist Tara Palmeri.
