A group of White House aides who either worked for or are close with First Lady Jill Biden allegedly formed a “protective bubble” around the 81-year-old Joe Biden, tightly managing his schedule and the amount of access other staff had. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini—who maintains a close relationship with Jill Biden—is one of the aides, along with Jill Biden’s top adviser, Anthony Bernal, and long-time Biden staffer Ashley Williams.
“Annie, Ashley, and Anthony create a protective bubble around POTUS. He’s staffed so closely that he’s lost all independence,” a former White House staffer said in a recent interview. They continued: “POTUS relies on staff to nudge him with reminders of who he’s meeting, including former staffers and advisers who Biden should easily remember without a reminder from Annie.”
These three aides are almost constantly at Joe Biden‘s side. Concerns by other White House staff who observed these memory lapses were often dismissed, but last month’s presidential debate—where Biden appeared cognitively impaired to the point of being unfit for office— has left some believing the First Lady and her aides were involved in a cover-up.
A senior official at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) painted a bleaker picture regarding the level of staff control of and intervention with Biden. “Everything else feels like ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ by his inner circle to prop him up,” they said.
Biden spokesman Andrew Bates dismissed the allegations, telling Axios: “These are standard processes for any White House, regardless of president or party. The claims about these individuals—whose professionalism and character are respected across the administration—are inaccurate.”
