In their newly released book, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson claim to pull back the curtain on what they describe as a shocking conspiracy: the deliberate concealment of former President Joe Biden’s cognitive and physical decline by his inner circle. Published on May 20, 2025, by Penguin Press, the book has ignited a firestorm of debate, not for its revelations, but for the audacious hypocrisy of its lead author, Jake Tapper, who now profits from a truth many argue he helped obscure for years. This article dismantles Original Sin, exposing its authors’ selective outrage and complicity in a media narrative that shielded Biden’s frailties from the American public, while also fact-checking the inflammatory claim that such actions amount to treason.
The Book’s Premise: A Convenient Epiphany
Original Sin paints a vivid picture of Biden’s decline, detailing moments of incoherence, memory lapses, and physical frailty—such as aides discussing the possibility of Biden needing a wheelchair if re-elected in 2024. The authors recount high-profile incidents, like Biden’s failure to recognize actor George Clooney at a June 2024 fundraiser, and cite over 200 interviews with Democratic insiders to argue that Biden’s decision to run for re-election was “narcissistic, self-delusional, and reckless.” They frame this as the “original sin” that doomed the Democratic Party, leading to Vice President Kamala Harris’s defeat by Donald Trump in the 2024 election. The book suggests a concerted effort by Biden’s family and aides—nicknamed “the Politburo”—to hide his condition, gaslighting the public and undermining democracy.
At first glance, this appears to be hard-hitting journalism. But the book’s central flaw is its refusal to acknowledge the elephant in the room: the mainstream media, including Tapper himself, were not innocent bystanders. For years, outlets like CNN, where Tapper serves as a lead anchor, downplayed or dismissed concerns about Biden’s mental acuity, often labeling them as “cheap fakes” or right-wing conspiracies. Now, Tapper seeks to capitalize on the very story he and his colleagues suppressed, presenting himself as a truth-teller while ignoring his role in the deception.
Jake Tapper was paid a lot of money to say that Joe Biden was not experiencing any sort of cognitive decline. That is, of course until Jake Tapper was paid a lot more money to say that Joe Biden was clearly experiencing a cognitive decline. pic.twitter.com/9p9j2qgrNV
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) February 27, 2025
Jake Tapper’s Complicity: A Journalist’s Betrayal
Tapper’s hypocrisy is glaring. As a prominent CNN anchor, he had a front-row seat to Biden’s presidency and the 2024 campaign. Yet, during the 2020 election cycle, when questions about Biden’s cognitive health surfaced, Tapper was quick to deflect. For instance, when Lara Trump criticized Biden’s shaky voice, Tapper redirected attention to Biden’s lifelong stutter, framing concerns as insensitive attacks rather than legitimate inquiries. This pattern continued through Biden’s presidency, with Tapper and CNN often dismissing videos showing Biden’s confusion as manipulated or out of context. Only after Biden’s disastrous June 27, 2024, debate performance—co-moderated by Tapper himself—did he begin to openly criticize Biden’s fitness, calling the president and his family “in complete denial.”
Whatever you think of @JoeBiden and his politics, worth reading this remarkable piece about his stutter.https://t.co/WkMCyigdR9 https://t.co/9gimcPB533
— Jake Tapper 🦅 (@jaketapper) January 17, 2020
Original Sin conveniently glosses over this history. The book’s narrative hinges on the idea that Biden’s decline was a closely guarded secret, known only to a select few insiders. Yet, posts on X and public sentiment as early as 2020 suggest that many Americans suspected Biden’s frailties, only to be rebuffed by a media establishment that included Tapper. One X post from February 2025 captures the sentiment: “Jake Tapper’s new book ‘Original Sin’ exposes Biden’s cognitive decline after YEARS of Tapper HIMSELF covering it up on CNN! The ultimate hypocrite gaslit viewers, now cashes in on the truth he hid.” Another post accuses the media of “enthusiastic cover-up” during the 2020 election to ensure Trump’s defeat. These voices, while not conclusive evidence, reflect a widespread belief that the media, Tapper included, prioritized political outcomes over transparency.
WHAT A FILTHY LIAR: Jake Tapper’s new book ‘Original Sin’ exposes Biden’s cognitive decline after YEARS of Tapper HIMSELF covering it up on CNN! The ultimate hypocrite gaslit viewers, now cashes in on the truth he hid. Liar exposed pic.twitter.com/2TlFgVsT8Z
— A Man Of Memes (@RickyDoggin) February 27, 2025
Tapper’s claim that “we were just lied to” by the White House rings hollow. As a seasoned journalist with access to White House sources, he had the resources to investigate Biden’s health long before the debate exposed it to 51 million viewers. His failure to do so—while now profiting from a book that confirms what many already suspected—smacks of opportunism. The book’s reliance on anonymous sources further undermines its credibility, as it shields the very insiders who enabled the cover-up, allowing Tapper to dodge accountability for his own role in the media’s silence.
The Media’s Broader Failure: A Pattern of Negligence
The media’s complicity extends beyond Tapper. Outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Axios (Thompson’s employer) often framed Biden’s gaffes as quirks or age-related eccentricities, rather than symptoms of a deeper issue. Original Sin notes that Biden’s decline was evident as early as 2015, following the death of his son Beau, and became pronounced by 2019, when he struggled to recall the name of longtime aide Mike Donilon. Yet, during the 2020 campaign, the media largely ignored these red flags, focusing instead on Trump’s controversies. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a convenient excuse, as Biden’s remote campaigning and teleprompter use masked his limitations.
Joe Biden forgot the names of Mike Donilon and Jake Sullivan.
— Anthony LaMesa (@ajlamesa) May 14, 2025
That's like a father forgetting the names of his children. pic.twitter.com/GqbsOC6ZkP
This selective reporting continued into Biden’s presidency. Original Sin reveals that Biden’s staff tightly controlled his schedule, limiting public appearances to hours when he was most functional. The media, however, rarely pressed for access or questioned the White House’s narrative that Biden was “a very effective president.” Even when Special Counsel Robert Hur’s 2023 report described Biden as an “elderly man with poor memory,” Tapper challenged Democratic Representative Robert Garcia on why Biden skipped a Super Bowl interview, but stopped short of demanding a cognitive exam. This reluctance to confront the issue head-on enabled the White House to maintain its facade until the debate shattered it.
The Book’s Selective Narrative: What It Omits
Original Sin is not without merit. Its detailed accounts of Biden’s struggles—such as aides’ fears of a wheelchair-bound presidency or his incoherent 2017 recordings with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer—provide a sobering look at a presidency in crisis. Yet, the book sidesteps the broader context of media complicity. Tapper and Thompson position themselves as objective chroniclers, but fail to address how their own outlets benefited from White House access while soft-pedaling Biden’s decline. The book’s focus on Biden’s “Politburo” deflects attention from the media’s role as a willing accomplice, happy to trade skepticism for scoops.
Moreover, the authors’ claim that “no instances” were found where Biden was unable to discharge his duties is disingenuous. While Biden may have made sound decisions on his “good days,” the book’s own evidence of his limited functionality and reliance on aides suggests a presidency heavily managed by unelected staff. This raises questions about who truly held power—a question the media, including Tapper, failed to pursue aggressively.
Final Thoughts
Original Sin is less an exposé than a belated confession, dressed up as investigative journalism to salvage Tapper’s reputation and line his pockets. The book’s revelations, while shocking to some, merely confirm what many Americans suspected: Joe Biden’s cognitive decline was an open secret, obscured by a complicit media that included Tapper himself. His attempt to rewrite history as a crusading journalist is not just hypocritical—it’s an insult to the public’s intelligence. The media’s failure to expose Biden’s frailties earlier may not legally constitute treason, but it represents a profound betrayal of trust, enabling a presidency that, by the book’s own admission, paved the way for Trump’s return. The moral and civic consequences are significant, as the media’s minimization of Biden’s health issues led to a lack of openness that potentially impacted the outcome of the 2024 election. Tapper and Thompson owe the American people an apology, not a bestseller.
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