After Thursday’s disastrous CNN debate, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill attempted to preempt the inevitable backlash, papering over the debacle with a series of bland publicity appearances.
A quick stop at a debate viewing party hosted by ardent Biden supporters was followed by a midnight visit to an Atlanta Waffle House.
As the president, still looking dazed after his televised humiliation, greeted diners who remained awkwardly seated, Jill approached the counter and giggled: “Order for Biden.”
But for all his clever attempts to paper over the cracks, what happened next seemed highly revealing of his panic behind the scenes.
One of the reporters who arrived at the Waffle House with the television crews asked the President how he thought he had performed in the debate with Donald Trump.
Anthony Bernal, 51 (center in beige suit), is Jill Biden’s “work husband” and accompanied the couple on their overnight visit after Thursday’s disastrous debate to Waffle House.
Bernal has worked with the Bidens since 2008 and is known for his unwavering loyalty.
“I think we did well,” Biden said, before forcing a smile as he was bombarded with follow-up questions about “concerns” about his competence.
Then came the moment you’d miss if you blinked: Right behind Biden, but still in the camera’s field, Jill looked at an unassuming man with thinning hair and a beige suit jacket, who in turn raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes, looking alarmed.
A silent but perhaps revealing interaction, for this man was Anthony Bernal, Jill’s ever-present and chief advisor.
Behind the walls of the White House, Jill refers to Bernal, 51, as her “work husband,” and the two are rarely seen apart.
“Bernal is the most powerful person in the East Wing, having control over everything that happens there, from travel and schedules to speeches and messages… he takes high-level calls every day,” says Jill’s biographer, Katie Rogers.
Crucially, Bernal helps “design” and orchestrate “what the president will look like when (the public) sees him, not just the first lady,” Rogers added.
And so, as pressure mounts on Jill — who Biden associates describe as “the only person” who could convince the ailing president not to run in 2024 — and allegations emerge about the level of her influence within the Oval Office, Bernal’s role has also come under increased scrutiny.
On Sunday, the Bidens escaped for a post-debate briefing and a reportedly pre-planned photo shoot with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz at Camp David.
And it was from those cozy presidential cabins that Jill made a phone call to Vogue magazine, giving a last-minute update on her cover interview, which is set to be published on Monday.
“We will not let those 90 minutes define Joe’s four years as president. We will continue to fight,” Jill insisted to Vogue.
In the final paragraphs of the magazine’s extensive profile, Bernal appears, officially cited.
“Her family is everything to her,” she purrs. “Deep down, she’s a reserved person.”
And no one is better suited to help Jill hide her private struggles than Bernal.
“He is known for being very authoritarian. He can be aggressive… he makes life miserable for younger White House aides,” says biographer Rogers.
At public events, meetings and even on family vacations, Bernal is a fixture in Biden’s furniture. Nothing, it seems, passes without his approval.
“He has an unmatched ability to influence things within the president’s team,” a former co-worker told the New York Post in March.
Bernal met Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa after Hunter was found guilty in his gun trial last month.
She ran up to Hunter at a Delaware airfield, kissed him on the cheek and hugged him, before turning to Melissa and doing the same.
It was Bernal who met Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa after Hunter was found guilty in his gun trial last month.
Running toward Hunter at a Delaware airfield, Bernal kissed him on the cheek and hugged him, before turning to Melissa and doing the same.
It was Bernal who personally transported Jill and the president from the CNN studio in Atlanta after Thursday’s debate, to the debate viewing party and that “spontaneous” visit to Waffle House.
And it is Bernal who now stands firmly by Jill’s side, as she and a select circle of advisers, including Hunter, counsel the President not to give in to growing calls for his resignation from within the Democratic Party.
“There is no order that Bernal cannot handle,” Rogers says. “He controls the dog, keeps the White House cat in its cage and makes sure Biden’s children and grandchildren are moved to the appropriate weekend retreats.”
But it is this closeness to the Bidens, and their undoubted loyalty, that has raised fears that Bernal will be granted special protections.
In March, a major New York Post investigation spoke to nearly a dozen current and former White House staffers who accused Bernal of bullying and verbal sexual harassment.
The allegations include that Bernal “often” speculates on the endowments of fellow politicians and even Secret Service agents.
It is Bernal who is firmly on Jill’s side, as she advises the President not to give in to growing calls for his resignation from within the Democratic Party.
It is this closeness to the Bidens and their loyalty that has led to claims that Bernal is granted special protections.
He has allegedly accused colleagues of having “small penises” during arguments, and on one occasion commented on a staff member’s “bulge” in his khakis.
“There were a lot of inappropriate comments – people were being talked about in terms of attractiveness and their sex lives were being speculated about at very odd times,” another source said.
Others claim that Bernal, who is gay, loudly speculates at work about the sexuality of other staff members.
“I’ve heard him say inappropriate things about people’s sexuality,” one person who worked with Bernal told The Post. “I’ve heard him ask all the time if people are gay. … I can think of more than one occasion where he pontificated on whether someone was gay or not or said, ‘They’re definitely gay.'”
“It’s Me Too, classic Me Too,” another source said.
Bernal, who has worked for Jill throughout Biden’s presidency and previously held roles for the family when Joe was Barack Obama’s vice president, denies all allegations against him.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, he described the allegations as “false” and “baseless” and “nothing more than anti-gay hatred and racism”, adding: “I conduct my personal and professional interactions with integrity, compassion and care.”
When the Post published its investigation in March, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said in a statement to the paper: “The president and first lady have full confidence in Anthony’s character, as do I. It is disappointing that he is the target of baseless attacks from anonymous sources.”
Outside of work, Bernal is fiercely protective of his privacy.
Bernal has allegedly accused colleagues of having “small penises” during arguments and once commented on a staff member’s “bulge” in his khaki pants. Bernal denies all allegations against him.
He attended school in Tucson, Arizona, graduating in 1991, before studying history and philosophy at the University of Texas.
She held minor roles under President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore before beginning to work with the Bidens in 2008, when she joined the Obama campaign as part of Jill’s staff.
He quickly established himself as a key support figure, a role he cemented after the death of the Bidens’ 46-year-old son, Beau, from brain cancer in 2015.
“Part of that relationship was completely solidified because he was able to keep things quiet, to keep his privacy intact (after Beau’s death),” Rogers says. “Someone told me that he would walk in front of a speeding train for (Jill).”
This fierce loyalty has earned Bernal considerable influence, both with the first lady and the president.
So as concerns mount over Joe Biden’s suitability to serve in office and run for re-election in November, one must surely question the extent of Bernal’s role in the White House’s stubborn refusal to accept criticism.