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CNN’s Tapper Releasing Book On ‘Cover Up’ Of Biden’s Mental State After Covering It Up For Years
Charlie Kirk Staff
02/26/2025
CNN anchor Jake Tapper is co-authoring a book with Axios correspondent Alex Thompson, which investigates the alleged “cover-up” of former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, CNN reported on Wednesday.
The book, titled Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, places blame on Biden and his family for what it describes as “an extended act of public deception with few precedents,” according to the book’s publisher, Penguin Press.
Tapper, who co-hosted the ill-fated June 2024 debate between Biden and Donald Trump, eventually marking Biden’s withdrawal from the race, and Thompson, who covered the aftermath and the White House’s efforts to keep Biden in the 2024 race, provide insight into the administration’s handling of Biden’s decline.
“What you will learn makes President Biden’s decision to run for reelection seem shockingly narcissistic, self-delusional, and reckless — a desperate bet that went bust — and part of a larger act of extended public deception that has few precedents,” Penguin said in a press release.
The publisher added that Biden, “his family, and his senior aides were so convinced that only he could beat Trump again, they lied to themselves, allies, and the public about his condition and limitations.”
In their book, Tapper and Thompson explore what they term Biden’s “original sin” — his decision to seek a second term at the age of 81. “Original Sin” is set to be released on May 20.
The announcement of the book sparked backlash from conservatives on social media, who argued that Tapper and Thompson were complicit in the legacy media’s efforts to downplay Biden’s cognitive decline.
Prior to Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump, both Tapper and Thompson had criticized conservatives for highlighting what they saw as clear signs that the former president’s mental faculties were deteriorating.
During the 2020 campaign, Tapper came to Biden’s defense multiple times when Republicans criticized him for struggling during his campaign speeches. In January 2020, Tapper reposted a clip of Lara Trump saying she felt “kind of sad for Biden” for struggling to “get the words out.”
Tapper commented on Trump’s remarks on social media, writing, “Whatever you think of @JoeBiden and his politics, worth reading this remarkable piece about his stutter,” and linking to an Atlantic article that argued that voters should “be more understanding” of Biden’s gaffes because “he’s still fighting a stutter.”
In June 2023, Thompson wrote a piece for Axios on “Biden’s weird words” and defended the former president’s “unique phrases” from Republican attacks.
“Biden’s quirky aphorisms are sometimes weaponized by Republicans to insinuate the 80-year-old president is in mental decline,” Thompson wrote. “But Biden has been using unique phrases for years — but even some of his aides aren’t exactly sure what he means by them.”
Thompson added, “There are legitimate questions about Biden’s age and stamina as he runs for a second term — but his off-beat proverbs are just Biden being Biden.”
