First Lady Jill Biden is seen by President Biden\u2019s aides as one of the most powerful first ladies in modern history, according to \u201cOriginal Sin,\u201d the new book by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That influence extended to her top aide, Anthony Bernal, who, according to the authors, became one of the most powerful figures inside the White House. Tapper and Thompson describe Bernal\u2019s elevated role as part of a broader narrative about President Biden\u2019s cognitive decline and the administration\u2019s alleged efforts to conceal it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that influence came at a price, according to the authors. \u201cHe would not be welcome at my funeral,\u201d a longtime Biden aide told the writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a White House where loyalty was the currency of power, Anthony Bernal used it as a weapon to root out dissenters, according to Tapper and Thompson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe considered loyalty to be the defining virtue and would wield that word to elevate some and oust others \u2013 at times fairly and at times not. \u2018Are you a Biden person?\u2019 he would ask West Wing aides. \u2018Is so-and-so a Biden person?\u2019 The regular interrogations led some colleagues to dub him the leader of the \u2018loyalty police,\u2019\u201d the journalists wrote in their book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the pandemic, then-candidate Biden opted to remain largely hidden rather than hitting the campaign trail. During that time, two Biden aides \u2014 Bernal and Annie Tomasini \u2014 managed to burrow into the future first couple\u2019s orbit, which shifted the power paradigm of Joe Biden\u2019s so-called \u201cPolitburo,\u201d which the authors described as a group of insiders who likely ran much of his presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tapper and Thompson describe Bernal and Tomasini as \u201cintensely loyal,\u201d forming what they call an \u201colder-brother-and-little-sister\u201d dynamic. Notably, Tomasini held the title of deputy campaign manager\u2014an unusual position for someone primarily seen as a staffer to the candidate\u2019s spouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pair also orchestrated a now-infamous moment during the campaign: loading a teleprompter for Biden ahead of a local interview, a decision that drew sharp criticism and became a lasting symbol of the campaign\u2019s tightly controlled media strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n