The Transparency Wars: Trump vs. Biden on Health, the Economy, ICE Raids — and the Midterms

A live, unscripted debate between Republican Erin Maguire and a Democrat Michael LaRosa who’ve worked at the highest levels of power

Welcome back to The Red Letter.

Transparency is at the center of almost every political fight right now — from the Epstein files to presidential health, the economy, immigration enforcement, foreign policy, and the looming midterms.

To cut through the spin, I hosted a live, unscripted debate between two strategists who’ve worked at the highest levels of power:

• Michael LaRosa, who served in the Biden White House and in House leadership for Nancy Pelosi

• Erin Maguire, a former deputy communications director for Donald Trump, who also worked for former speaker Kevin McCarthy

This wasn’t a conversation about optics. It was a fight over records, responsibility, and whether either party has been honest with the public.

We debated:

• Trump vs. Biden on health disclosures

• How Trump and Biden handled the economy — stimulus checks v. tariffs

• ICE raids and their impact on Trump’s approval ratings

• How each President has handled foreign affairs

• The Epstein files — which party should be blamed for the decades long cover-up

• Which party is better positioned ahead of the midterm elections

• J.D. Vance vs. Gavin Newsom

What stood out wasn’t just the disagreement, it was how differently each side defines “transparency.” That gap may explain why public trust keeps eroding.