Jill Biden's ex-spokesman accuses her of trying to 'change the tape' after 2024 debate admission
WASHINGTON, DC: Jill Biden has reignited debate over her husband’s disastrous 2024 presidential debate performance, revealing that she feared Joe Biden might be suffering a stroke as he struggled on stage against then-Republican nominee Donald Trump.
However, the claim has drawn skepticism from former aide Michael LaRosa, who accused the former first lady of trying to "change the tape" by offering a markedly different account of her reaction at the time.
Michael LaRosa accuses Jill Biden of 'changing the tape'
LaRosa, who previously served as Press Secretary at the White House, argued that Jill is revising the narrative surrounding the debate to recast her image and influence public memory of the incident.
“They’re trying to change the tape in people’s minds about who she is… that’s why she’s sort of changing her tune a little bit about her reaction in real time,” LaRosa said in an interview with Fox News.
“She wants to say, ‘Oh no, my reaction was just as concerning and was just as severe as everyone at home. I was shocked,’” he continued.
LaRosa said Jill was “the face and the voice of the initial reaction for the country” following the debate, arguing that if she had responded publicly at the time with the concerns she later revealed to CBS, “it would have been a more human response.”
“You did such a great job, you answered every question, you knew all the facts,” she praised then-President Biden in front of a crowd following the disastrous June 2024 debate, which catalyzed the chain of events that eventually led him to drop out of the presidential election.
Democrats unhappy with Jill Biden’s statement
For many Democrats who had privately worried during the debate that Biden might be suffering a serious medical episode, only to spend months hearing those concerns dismissed by the campaign, Jill Biden’s remarks struck a painful chord.
With the midterm elections approaching, some party members expressed frustration that the former first family was reopening a politically damaging chapter, particularly lingering questions about how much those around Biden knew about his age-related and cognitive challenges.
“What I care about is what happens going forward,” Dan Pfeiffer, a host of 'Pod Save America,' said on the show Thursday.
“What bothers me the most is not the timeline of events, but whether Democratic leaders now will ever reckon with the massive breach of trust that came because of how all of that was handled,” he continued.
Meghan Hays, a former White House aide to Joe Biden, said on C-SPAN’s 'Ceasefire' that Jill might be using these tactics to sell her book, but her efforts are not helping the party ahead of the midterm elections.
“We have a lot of momentum in our favor ... and when we get pulled back into conversations about age and the election in ‘24, it’s never gonna be a good place for Democrats,” Hays said. “I think it is a tough place to be.”
