As President Joe Biden’s political future unraveled in real time, a new book reveals it was First Lady Jill Biden who stepped into a powerful role just as her husband’s grip on the White House started to slip.
According to 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America, Jill Biden’s influence inside the administration quietly expanded as questions about her husband’s age and fitness intensified. While President Biden faced pressure from donors and party leaders after his rocky debate with Donald Trump, Jill was right there, digging in and standing firm.
The book, written by journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdor, paints a picture of a first lady not just supporting her husband, but actively shaping decisions at the highest levels. Her chief of staff and senior advisor, Anthony Bernal, was by her side every step of the way. His role became so intertwined with hers that staffers often couldn’t tell if he was speaking for himself or for Jill, reported Fox News.
“He quickly bonded with Jill Biden and never left her side, becoming unflinchingly loyal to her and using his proximity to her to exert power wherever he decided,” the authors wrote. “Sometimes, when donors or voters asked her questions, Bernal would jump in to answer.”
As the president stumbled through his re-election campaign and struggled to recover from a disastrous debate performance, Jill didn’t hesitate to take charge. At a fundraiser shortly after the debate, she pushed back hard. “Joe isn’t just the right person for the job,” she said. “He’s the only person for the job.”
But Jill wasn’t just rallying support with speeches. She was flying across time zones to show up for her family, attending the first few days of her son Hunter’s federal trial, flying to France for the D-Day commemoration, then heading straight back to Wilmington the next day to be at the trial again. West Wing staffers were reportedly stunned when she showed up in court unannounced, a sign that she wasn’t waiting on anyone’s approval to act.
The book also describes Jill as the president’s biggest advocate and sometimes watchdog, often encouraging him to eat healthier, stay on schedule, and even calling out staff when things didn’t go as planned. One aide even apologized to her in early 2022 after a press conference ran too long.
As things fell apart post-debate, with Democratic leaders and major donors pressing for Biden to step aside, it was Jill and the rest of the family who held firm at Camp David. That trip wasn’t a retreat—it was a regroup. “The president was not entertaining the idea of dropping out of the race; he was taking stock of how bad things really were,” the book says.
Ultimately, Jill was among those urging him to stay in the race. But the tide shifted quickly. Less than a month after that high-stakes debate and just a week after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Biden stunned the political world by suspending his re-election campaign. He later threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic nominee.