How Jill Biden's top adviser now 'controls everything' despite claims of sexual harassment, bullying and fixation with 'size of male staffers' endowments'

• e-mail

After Thursday's disastrous CNN debate, President Joe Biden and the First Lady Jill tried to get ahead of the inevitable backlash, glossing over the debacle with a flurry of soft-ball publicity appearances.

A quick stop off at a debate viewing party held by ardent Biden-loyalists was followed by a midnight visit to an Atlanta Waffle House.

As the President – still looking stunned after his televised humiliation – greeted fellow diners who awkwardly remained seated, Jill swept up to the counter and giggled: 'Order for Biden.'

But, for all her slick attempts to paper over the cracks, what happened next seemed highly revealing of her behind-the-scenes panic.

One of the reporters who had made their way into the Waffle House alongside TV crews asked the President how he thought he'd performed in the debate with Donald Trump.

Anthony Bernal, 51, (center in the beige suit) is Jill Biden's 'work husband' and accompanied the couple on their late night visit post Thursday's disastrous debate to Waffle House. 

Bernal has worked with the Bidens since 2008 and is known for his unfaltering loyalty.

'I think we did well,' Biden said, before straining a smile as he was hammered with follow-up questions about 'concerns' over his competency.

Then came the blink-and-you-miss-it moment: Just behind Biden, but still in camera shot, Jill glanced across to an otherwise unassuming man, with thinning hair and in a beige suit jacket, who in turn raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes, looking alarmed.

A silent but perhaps telling interaction – for this man was Anthony Bernal, Jill's ever-present and most senior adviser.

Behind White House walls, Jill refers to Bernal, 51, as her 'work husband', with the pair rarely seen apart.

'Bernal is the most powerful person in the East Wing [the First Lady's White House quarters], he has dominion over everything that happens in it, from trips and scheduling to speeches and messaging… he's on senior calls every day,' Jill's biographer Katie Rogers says.

Crucially, Bernal helps 'blueprint' and orchestrate 'how the president looks when [the public] see him, not just the first lady', Rogers added.

And so, as pressure now mounts on Jill – who Biden insiders describe as 'the one person' who could convince the ailing president not to run in 2024 – and accusations swirl about the level of her influence inside the Oval Office, Bernal's role has also come under increased scrutiny.

On Sunday, the Bidens escaped for a post-debate debrief and a reportedly pre-planned photoshoot with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz at Camp David.

And it was from those cozy presidential log cabins that Jill made a phone call to Vogue magazine, providing a last-minute update to her cover interview, due out Monday.

'[We] will not let those 90 minutes define the four years [Joe's] been president. We will continue to fight,' Jill insisted to Vogue.

In the closing paragraphs of the lengthy magazine profile, Bernal appears – quoted on the record.

'Her family means everything to her,' he purrs. 'At her core, she's a private person.'

And nobody is more prepared to help Jill conceal her private struggles than Bernal.

'He is known to be sort of very overbearing. He can be aggressive… [he] makes life hell for junior [White House] aides,' biographer Rogers says.

At public events, in meetings, and even on family holidays, Bernal is a permanent fixture in the Biden furniture. Nothing, it seems, passes without his approval.

'He has an unmatched ability to influence things in the president's team,' one 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.

He rushed to Hunter at a Delaware airfield, kissing him on the cheek and hugging 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.

Rushing to 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 ferried Jill and the president from Atlanta's CNN studio after Thursday's debate, to the watch-party and that 'spontaneous' Waffle House visit.

And it is Bernal who is now firmly by Jill's side, as she and a select circle of advisers – including Hunter – counsel the President not to cave to growing calls for his resignation from within the Democrat party.

'No order is beneath Bernal,' Rogers says. 'He wrangles the dog, carts the White House cat around in her cage, and makes sure that the various Biden children and grandchildren are transported to the appropriate weekend retreats.'

But it is this closeness to the Bidens, and his undoubted loyalty, that has led to fears Bernal is afforded special protections.

In March, a major investigation by the New York Post spoke to almost a dozen current and former White House staffers who accused Bernal of bullying and verbal sexual harassment.

Allegations include Bernal 'often' speculating about the endowments of fellow political aides and even Secret Service agents.

It is Bernal who is firmly by Jill's side, as she counsels the President not to cave to growing calls for his resignation from within the Democrat party.

It is this closeness to the Bidens, and his loyalty, that has led to claims Bernal is afforded special protections.

He has allegedly accused colleagues of having 'small penises' during arguments, and on one occasion remarked on a staffer's 'bulge in his khakis.'

'It was a lot of inappropriate remarks – talking about other people's attractiveness and speculating about their sex lives at very weird moments,' another source claimed.

Others allege that Bernal – who is himself gay – speculates aloud at work on the sexuality of other staff.

'I have heard him say inappropriate things about people's sexuality,' an insider who worked with Bernal told The Post. 'I heard him ask if people are gay all the time... I could think of more than one instance where he pontificated on whether someone was gay or not or said, "They are definitely gay".'

'It is Me Too — classic Me Too,' another source claimed.

Bernal – who has worked for Jill throughout the Biden presidency, and previously held roles working for the family when Joe was Vice President to Barack Obama – denies all allegations against him.

In a statement to DailyMail.com he described the claims as 'false' and 'baseless' and 'nothing more than gay-hate and racism', adding: 'I conduct my personal and professional interactions with integrity, compassion, and care.'

When the Post published their investigation in March, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said in a statement to the newspaper: 'The president and first lady have full confidence in Anthony's character, as do I. It is disappointing that he is the target of unfounded attacks from unnamed sources.'

Outside of work, Bernal is intensely protective of his privacy.

Bernal has allegedly accused colleagues of having 'small penises' during arguments, and on one occasion remarked on a staffer's 'bulge in his khakis'. Bernal denies all of the allegations against him.

He went to school in Tucson, Arizona, graduating in 1991, before studying history and philosophy at the University of Texas.

He took junior roles under President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore before starting work with the Bidens in 2008, when he joined the Obama campaign as part of Jill's staff.

He quickly established himself as a key support figure – a role he cemented following the death of the Bidens' 46-year-old son Beau from brain cancer in 2015.

'Part of that relationship is absolutely solidified because of how he was able to keep things quiet, keep their privacy intact [after Beau's death],' Rogers says. 'Somebody told me that he would walk in front of a speeding train for [Jill].'

Such fierce loyalty has earned Bernal considerable influence, over both the first lady and the president.

So as concerns mount about Joe Biden's fitness to serve and run for re-election in November, the extent of Bernal's role in the White House's obstinate refusal to countenance criticism must surely be questioned.