New Book on Biden’s Cognitive Decline Sparks Controversy
A forthcoming book alleging a cover-up of former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline is generating significant debate, with one of its authors, CNN anchor Jake Tapper, facing criticism for his perceived role in downplaying the issue.
The book, "Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," co-authored by Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson, is set to be released next week. Tapper has defended his coverage of Biden’s age and health, citing instances where he questioned the former president and challenged White House officials. However, conservative critics accuse Tapper of participating in a media-wide effort to shield Biden and are accusing him of trying to retroactively rewrite history.
Thompson, Tapper’s co-author, had distinguished himself as one of the few journalists in mainstream media to report on questions surrounding Biden’s mental sharpness before the now-infamous CNN presidential debate in 2024 (co-moderated by Tapper) that ultimately led to Biden’s withdrawal from the race.
Concerns about Biden’s age and stamina were present as early as the 2019 Democratic primary. Democratic rivals Julián Castro and Cory Booker openly questioned his sharpness and capacity to lead. During the 2020 campaign, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden ran a "basement campaign," making few public appearances. His campaign attributed Biden’s verbal stumbles to his lifelong struggle with a stutter.
The article points out that Tapper seemingly supported this explanation in October 2020, during a segment where he broadcasted a DNC convention clip with a 13-year-old Biden supporter with a severe stutter who turned to the Democratic nominee for inspiration. The segment was used in an exchange with Lara Trump, then a Trump 2020 campaign advisor, who drew attention to Bidens cognitive decline at a campaign event. Tapper angrily shut down her claims and asked how it makes little kids with stutters feel when they see her comment like that. He then accused her of mocking Biden’s stutter and insisted she had no qualifications to assess anyone’s cognitive abilities. Tapper cut the interview short when Lara Trump persisted in expressing concerns about Biden’s cognitive decline.
However, the article also acknowledges that Tapper later pressed Biden on the issue of transparency regarding his health in a September 2020 interview, to which Biden affirmed his commitment.
The article reviews transcripts of Tapper’s coverage of Biden’s alleged decline throughout his presidency, finding that his most assertive reporting occurred in February 2024, following the release of the Hur report. Special Counsel Robert Hur declined to prosecute Biden in the classified documents case, citing his perception as an "elderly man with a poor memory."
During an exchange with former Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield, Tapper challenged Biden for mixing up the presidents of Mexico and Egypt in a press conference and confusing French President Emmanuel Macron with the late French President François Mitterrand. Tapper also questioned then-Rep. Adam Schiff about the Democratic Party’s reaction to the Hur report.
Tapper also questioned the White House’s decision to forgo the traditional pre-Super Bowl interview for two consecutive years, suggesting it indicated a fear of exposing Biden to public scrutiny.
In an October 2022 interview, Tapper broached the subject of Biden’s age, albeit gently, acknowledging concerns among Democratic voters and prompting Biden to respond with "Watch me." The article notes that Tapper even assisted Biden during a moment when the former president struggled to find his words.
The article contends that Tapper tempered his coverage of Biden’s cognitive state during the 2024 election cycle. After Biden’s State of the Union address, Tapper dismissed "Weekend at Bernie’s" comparisons from the right, stating that while Biden seemed like an 81-year-old, he did not appear incapable of doing the job.
The article highlights several incidents that raised concerns about Biden’s mental acuity, including the G-7 Summit incident, the Juneteenth concert incident, and the LA fundraiser incident, noting that Tapper avoided covering them, even after claims from Bidens White House that the viral moments were cheap fakes. Tapper only acknowledged the LA freezing incident after George Clooney penned a scathing op-ed in the New York Times.
The article also points out that Tapper overlooked Biden’s "Where’s Jackie?" gaffe in September 2022. In September 2023, Tapper asserted that Biden was mentally "sharp" and suggested that concerns revolved around his physical abilities.
While Tapper’s program covered Biden’s physical stumbles, such as tripping on Air Force One stairs and falling at the Air Force Academy commencement ceremony, it avoided the viral moment when Biden fell from his bike in June 2022.
Before the CNN debate that exposed Bidens cognitive decline, Tapper addressed a Wall Street Journal report on Biden showing "signs of slipping" by emphasizing the White House’s response to the report and highlighting that it was "mostly based on observations of Republicans."
The article notes that Tapper’s book publisher released a montage of clips showcasing Tapper and Thompson discussing Biden’s age on-air, with a focus on polls indicating Americans believed Biden was too old for a second term.
While promoting his book, Tapper attributed the cover-up to Biden’s White House, claiming they lied to the press, the public, their own Cabinet, White House staffers, Democratic members of Congress, and donors.
A CNN spokesperson defended Tapper’s coverage, stating that he has "fairly and accurately covered Senator, Vice President and President Biden through years of dogged Washington reporting, hitting every high and low of the former president’s political career," and noting that he "raised concerns about President Biden’s mental stamina on his shows, questioned Biden officials directly about his health on air, and consistently encouraged open discussion and debate on the issue." The spokesperson added that Tapper covered the Clooney op-ed, the Hur report, and Biden’s physical limitations.
