Chicago – March 27, 2025
Michael LaRosa, a former press secretary for Jill Biden, has accused former President Joe Biden’s staff of pressuring journalists in an effort to manipulate media coverage in the president’s favor. Speaking with Cenk Uygur on “The Young Turks” on Tuesday, LaRosa described the tactics as “really unethical” and claimed that Biden’s communication team was often “hostile” and “suspicious” toward journalists under the leadership of Anita Dunn.
LaRosa said that Biden’s team used aggressive methods to discredit negative press and polls, questioning why such tactics were necessary when the president already had positive relationships with the media. He described the team as operating in a “bunker” mentality, attempting to control what reporters could write and the questions they could ask.
The former staffer also revealed that during Biden’s 2020 campaign, the communication team employed a “quote approval” process. A designated staffer would control which quotes from the president could be used by reporters after an interview. LaRosa added that younger members of the staff were specifically trained to influence the press, ensuring that only favorable questions were asked and that journalists received questions in advance.
