A former aide to First Lady Jill Biden offered a brutally honest assessment of the Bidens’ return to the public stage, urging them to embrace retirement and leave politics behind.
Michael LaRosa, who served as Jill Biden’s press secretary from 2021 to 2022, criticized recent decisions made by the Biden team following President Joe Biden’s departure from office on January 20.
“I love both Bidens dearly,” LaRosa told The Hill, “but loyalty to them means being honest about their public image—no matter how painful that truth might be.”
According to LaRosa, Joe Biden’s recent public reappearance did little to shift the news cycle, but instead gave conservative media new material to work with. “His return handed Fox News nearly 48 hours of fresh content, allowing them to refocus their attacks on Biden instead of the current administration,” he said.
LaRosa didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Bidens’ advisors, claiming they are out of touch with both the Democratic base and the broader political landscape. “A team with real awareness would have understood the lingering frustration—or outright indifference—toward the Bidens within the party,” he noted.
Calling the situation a “heartbreaking and tragic” close to their public careers, LaRosa emphasized the need for realism moving forward. “They need to acknowledge the political realities and factor that into their decision-making.”
Joe Biden returned to the spotlight on Tuesday to deliver his first post-presidency speech, in which he criticized Donald Trump’s handling of Social Security.
“Who in the hell do they think they are?” Biden exclaimed during a fiery return to the public stage.
Though it was clear his frustration was directed at Donald Trump and Elon Musk, Biden notably avoided naming either figure in his nearly 30-minute speech.
“Why are these guys taking aim at Social Security now?” the former president asked. “They’re following that old startup mantra—‘move fast, break things.’ Well, they’re definitely breaking things. They’re shooting first and aiming later.”
Trump didn’t take the criticism lightly. He fired back, branding Biden “the worst president in the history of the United States.”
While Biden steered clear of the immigration issue, Trump made sure to bring it up: “Sorry, but it’s my job to get these killers and thugs out of here,” he said. “THAT’S WHAT I GOT ELECTED TO DO. MAGA!”
The tension wasn’t limited to the political stage. Former aide Michael LaRosa also took a shot at a seemingly harmless Easter-themed post from Jill Biden.
Ahead of the holiday, the former first lady shared a light-hearted Instagram Story showing her in a grocery store pasta aisle with the caption: “Getting ready for Easter… I can’t wait to see our kids and grandkids.”
LaRosa didn’t mince words in response: “Ugh. Even in their post-presidency, they’re surrounded by staff with primitive instincts for PR or communicating publicly in ways that broaden and enhance their images,” he wrote on X.
‘Whose idea was it to pose for a picture in a grocery store, as if it’s somehow novel or unique to the rest of us?’ he continued.
‘The biggest problem for the Bidens, still, is the staff who keep them disconnected from modern and authentic means of speaking to their supporters and followers.’
Other strategists agreed with LaRosa that Biden peeking his head out now was not the right time as the Democratic party is desperate trying to rebrand to battle Republicans.
A CBS poll showed that Americans have reared their heads back on Trump over his economic policies, shifting the blame from Biden.
‘The CBS News poll shows that Americans have directed their anger about the economy away from Biden and redirected it towards Trump,’ Brad Bannon told The Hill.
‘So it’s a bad time for Biden to reemerge and remind them of the bad old days.’
Joe and Jill have largely kept a low profile since leaving the White House, popping up a Broadway show and a few other places, but it seems the former president is wishing to seek a more visible platform in the last week.
Last month, it was revealed that Democrats had been secretly preparing for Joe to die in office as far back as 2023.
Top party officials, led by former Vice President Kamala Harris’ communications director Jamal Simmons, drew up contingency plans for a slew of possibilities leading up to the 2024 election.
One scenario included that ‘Biden might die in office,’ according to Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes’ upcoming book Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.
‘They wanted to make sure the party was ready for every possible circumstance if Biden launched his campaign and then stepped aside before the primaries; if he had won a bunch of primaries and then could not continue,’ the book reads, according to The Guardian.
The ‘hush-hush’ meetings focused on what the party rules said would happen in any of these circumstances ‘and how [those rules] might need to be changed, if the president no longer had the desire, or the ability to run.’
Among the plans they drew up was a ‘death-pool roster’ of judges who could swear Harris into office if the then 81-year-old president passed away, the book claims, citing two unidentified sources.
