Michael larosa gay
Home / gay topics / Michael larosa gay
'I'm being made out to be more than what I am.'
LaRosa's disclosures about both Ashley Biden and Willow the First Feline irke his colleagues in the White House
LaRosa claimed those briefing against him are angry about his criticism of how the Biden administration has handled the Hunter Biden scandal
He said he's upset but not shocked this story would come out now, blaming it on the fact he's been critical of the administration, including how it's dealt with Hunter Biden and his sketchy foreign business dealings.
'I've been the only one out there defending Hunter and saying the White House should be more aggressive in defending him,' LaRosa told DailyMail.com.
'It's very clear that I've been a big advocate for Hunter, and their strategy has always been to downplay the Hunter stuff.
But LaRosa said it was only once.
'I did go on a date,' he told DailyMail.com. So I was like, 'Okay.' We just went downstairs and had a drink in the lobby with a bunch of other people.'
‘There was no violation,’ he added. Current and former White House colleagues say he wasn't the insider he claims to be, was never given a 'seat at the table' at any high-level meetings nor was he empowered to engage in any political strategizing.
His resignation came following months of erratic behavior, including the hotel incident according to insiders
LaRosa, pictured here with Jill Biden at his farewell drinks, now works for Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm whose founder was a top fundraiser for Donald Trump
LaRosa denies he tried to take more than one date up to his room on a secure floor of the InterContinental Hotel in Madrid, Spain, during last year's NATO summit
They say he's now whitewashing his post-White House job experiences as well.
LaRosa is currently working for Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm whose founder was a top fundraiser for Donald Trump.
A Politico article reported in September 2022 that Ballard 'poached' LaRosa from his previous job with Penta Group, a consulting firm where he'd served as managing director for strategy.
However, two sources familiar with his time at Penta say he wasn't poached.
The Washington Post once said Berry was “seen as a star over there [at the White House] and one of the stars in the Obama world over all.”
“John is one of the most talented managers in government,” said Steve Elmendorf, former Deputy Campaign Manager to John Kerry’s Presidential Campaign and newly elected Chair of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.
“That’s one of the advantages of having been through the Senate and passing the initial vet,” said Elmendorf.
“Neither of them would have a problem making it through the process again as a Cabinet Secretary,” he said.
In 1993 Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) led the opposition to President Clinton’s nomination of Roberta Achtenberg to be Assistant Secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
It's truly wrong and it's annoying to me personally.'
Speaking exclusively with DailyMail.com, a half dozen former colleagues in the White House and the campaign said LaRosa was increasingly unreliable.
They claim he'd inexplicably disappear from work for hours, missing calls and meetings. I don't know why they care so much what I say.'
NATOWhite HouseJill BidenSpain
Share or comment on this article: Jill Biden's press secretary Michael LaRosa was 'forced out' of White House after he 'tried to take gay dates' to his room on secure floor of hotel where president was staying during NATO summit in Madrid
John Berry, currently the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, is Obama’s highest-ranking openly gay political appointee. They say Penta, formerly Hamilton Place Strategies, was dissatisfied with his work output and quietly pushed him out after less than a year, and that he then scrambled to find another job, before landing with Ballard.
But it's the way he has leveraged his experience in the White House that has proved most irksome.
'This whole idea that he was this very senior insider and was like very close to the president or First Lady, and focused on the campaign and political strategy, that could not be farther from the truth,' a source who served with him in the White House told DailyMail.com.
He was talked to about his behavior and told you can't yell at colleagues, that you have to modulate your temper."
A third source commented: "The real broader problems started to come toward the end of his tenure when he would randomly snap at people including junior staff." A fourth staffer concurred, saying: "It was clear that he was not happy, and I think he took that out on others, and it made for him not being a great colleague toward the end."
Ultimately, the June 2022 incident in Madrid served as the last straw.
As remarked by a senior staffer, it wasn't like he was fired the next day, but it was made clear to him that it was time for him to leave."
Last summer President Obama made history by announcing his support for gay marriage. He later took a job with Ballard.
'Bernal is widely respected across the White House and many people in the First Lady’s office have worked with him for years.’
LaRosa said he ultimately decided to leave on his own, wanting to join the private sector.
He acknowledged that the West Wing was indeed furious, apparently not informed in advance that he would be releasing the information.
‘I was told to announce it,’ he told DailyMail.com, and said shortly after the disclosure, ‘I got angry messages from the West Wing that they didn’t get a heads up.’
As for claims about his alleged shouting at staff, he admitted shouting at a staffer in Connecticut, saying he’d yelled at the First Lady’s digital director near New Haven when he opposed stopping at an ice cream store, where she ended up getting up getting jeered by protesters.
He said that, if anything, Bernal was the one known for having tirades.
'They said it was too late.
‘If you do a simple Google search on our office, the culture was instilled,’ he said.