As Rudyard Kiping once wrote about another tireless and unappreciated water-carrier: You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din. At least in this instance, Andrew Bates is a better man than the people he served.

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No one would describe Bates as bound in Lazarushian leather, but he faced his fair share of rhetorical bullets for four years while fronting the Biden Regency’s fraud on the American electorate. Bates helped lead the Sharp As a Tack™ offensive, insisted that Joe was hale, hearty, and energetic despite all evidence to the contrary, and kept reporters benighted with tales of cheap fakes when any of them bothered to ask about video evidence of his decline emerged. Bates even did extra duty carrying water for Hunter Biden's art career.

Now that the Biden Regency has ended, though, Bates has the temerity to, er, speak for himself on the wisdom of dragging all of this back into the headlines. That’s especially true given the timing, as Democrats hope to make big gains in the midterms. Reminding everyone that the emperor had no clothes for four years and that his wife knew it might be a conversation for later, and probably never.

Dr. Jill, however, does not appreciate hearing from the help. She made that clear in a DC synagogue, which hosted an event to promote her new book. When asked about Bates' remarks about timing, Jill Biden accused Bates of being a coward:

Former First Lady Jill Biden clapped back at a former staffer who questioned why she dredged up all the Democrats' 2024 drama as the party gears up for the all-important midterms. ...

Moderator Paola Ramos pointed to a comment one of President Biden's spokespeople, Andrew Bates, had made to the New York Post for a story published Thursday. 

Bates had mused: 'We had a duty to win and we didn't. I think about that all the time. But I don't see why that painful conversation for the party needed to be publicly reopened right now.' 

Pressed about the timing of her book, the former First Lady sassed at Bates. 

'I want to say to Andrew, call me up and say it to my face,' Biden said. 

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How utterly charming, in a feudal sense. That will certainly show the servants who's boss. Except, of course, that the Bidens are no longer bosses, and everyone seems to be happier about it.

Yashar Ali was aghast, and he wasn't the only observer who saw masks drop in this moment:

This is who the Bidens are.

Andrew Bates KILLED himself for the Bidens to the point of damaging his own reputation and appearing at times like a Baghdad Bob.

And yet… https://t.co/9vyBpKxtDH

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) June 4, 2026

Axios' Alex Thompson collected on-the-record reactions from the Biden and Obama team members, and they're equally disgusted by Jill's ingratitude – not to mention the book:

Former Biden spokesperson @Rodericka goes on the record: “Why are we rehashing years-old scores and clinging to relevancy to sell books about palace intrigue within a wing that doesn’t even exist anymore? Focusing on this instead of the bleak reality Americans have been experiencing in the same time frame is exactly why we lost in 24.”

Another former Biden WH staffer tells me: “The former First Lady would still be known as the former Second Lady without Andrew Bates.”

Mediaite collects a couple of more statements from social media:

Rob Flaherty, who served as deputy campaign manager for Biden’s 2024 reelection effort, posted on X: “Just a whole lot I could say about this but I will leave it at being so, unbelievably disappointed.”

Former Obama aide and Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor also defended Bates, writing: “No one was more loyal to the Biden family and fought harder for them than @AndrewBatesNC. Sh*tty to see that that loyalty was a one-way street.”

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Ahem. No one can be surprised by this; as Yashar put it best, this is not just who the Bidens are, this is who they have always been. Self-righteous, entitled, snobbish, and convinced of their own self-assessed superior intellects, despite all evidence to the contrary of their true qualities. The Protection Racket Media colluded with the Bidens and Democrats to sell the Biden Inc narratives for decades, including Empathetic Joe, and especially all of the lies spun to cover up Joe's dementia. Andrew Bates played a key role in maintaining those narratives for the Biden family for years, but the moment he suggests that the timing of this conversation plays poorly for Biden's allies – a sentiment that all of them clearly share – Jill torches him publicly and reveals everything needed to assess her true character, and that of the entire family.

Bates worked for these narcissistic snobs, so that decision is on him. Gunga Din had a lot less agency in his choices, and paid a heavier price. However, Bates deserved better than the sneering contempt of a Biden baroness after all his service to their cause, and everyone knows it. 

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