First Lady Jill Biden is regarded by President Biden’s aides as one of the most influential first ladies in contemporary history, as stated in “Original Sin,” the recent publication by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson.
This influence also reached her chief aide, Anthony Bernal, who, according to the authors, emerged as one of the most significant figures within the White House. Tapper and Thompson characterize Bernal’s enhanced position as part of a larger narrative concerning President Biden’s cognitive decline and the administration’s purported attempts to hide it.
However, this influence came with consequences, as noted by the authors. “He would not be welcome at my funeral,” remarked a longtime Biden aide to the writers.
In a White House where loyalty served as the currency of power, Anthony Bernal wielded it as a tool to eliminate dissenters, as reported by Tapper and Thompson.
“He regarded loyalty as the paramount virtue and would use that term to promote some individuals while dismissing others – sometimes justly and at other times unjustly. ‘Are you a Biden person?’ he would inquire of West Wing staff. ‘Is so-and-so a Biden person?’ These frequent interrogations led some colleagues to refer to him as the head of the ‘loyalty police,’” the authors noted in their publication.
Throughout the pandemic, then-candidate Biden chose to remain mostly out of the public eye instead of actively campaigning. During this period, two aides to Biden — Bernal and Annie Tomasini — managed to infiltrate the future first couple’s inner circle, thereby altering the power dynamics of Joe Biden’s so-called ‘Politburo,’ which the authors characterized as a cadre of insiders who likely influenced much of his presidency.
Tapper and Thompson characterize Bernal and Tomasini as “deeply loyal,” establishing what they refer to as an “older-brother-and-little-sister” relationship. Importantly, Tomasini served as the deputy campaign manager—an atypical role for an individual primarily regarded as a staff member to the candidate’s spouse.
The duo also orchestrated a now-notorious incident during the campaign: preparing a teleprompter for Biden prior to a local interview, a choice that attracted significant criticism and became a lasting emblem of the campaign’s meticulously managed media approach.
“The importance of Bernal and Tomasini lies in the extent to which their ascent in the Biden White House indicated the triumph of individuals whose loyalty was directed towards the Biden family – not towards the presidency, not towards the American populace, not towards the nation, but towards the Biden ideology,” the authors stated.
Tapper and Thompson observed that few individuals came to Bernal’s support, depicting him as someone who exercised his power to eliminate “potential heretics” from Biden’s close circle.
As Bernal developed a reputation for disparaging other aides, “some even labeled him as the most unpleasant person they had ever encountered,” Tapper and Thompson remarked.
As the Biden campaign commenced preparations for a re-election effort, some insiders expressed concerns regarding the president’s age and concerning polling in key battleground states. However, the book reveals that Bernal and other senior aides dismissed any speculation about Vice President Kamala Harris potentially initiating her own campaign.
Bernal is quoted as stating candidly, “You don’t run for four years, you run for eight.”
“He had already started organizing the first lady’s international travel itinerary for 2025,” Tapper and Thompson reported.
Tapper and Thompson indicate that Bernal made significant efforts to elevate Jill Biden’s “profile and glamour,” frequently providing straightforward assessments of her appearance and clothing choices.
The authors highlight that he referred to the first lady simply as “Jill,” emphasizing his unusually casual yet influential position within her close circle.
