The American public was subjected to a sustained campaign of misinformation regarding former President Joe Biden’s mental and physical fitness during his presidency. Despite clear signs of cognitive decline, amplified by Republican voices, major media outlets and Biden’s own administration consistently downplayed or outright denied these concerns. This article examines how the media misled the public, using specific examples like CNN and MSNBC hosts praising Biden’s sharpness, White House press secretaries dismissing legitimate questions, and a recent book that attempts to rewrite the narrative while perpetuating falsehoods.
Media’s Denial of the Obvious
For years, Republicans raised alarms about Biden’s cognitive health, pointing to public appearances where he appeared confused, struggled with coherence, or made significant gaffes. These concerns were often dismissed as partisan attacks by mainstream media. CNN, a prominent outlet, played a significant role in this narrative. In March 2024, after Biden’s State of the Union address, CNN host Jake Tapper remarked that Biden “didn’t seem incapable of doing the job,” dismissing conservative critiques of his mental acuity as exaggerated. Similarly, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, a leading progressive voice, claimed in early 2024 that Biden was “at the top of his game,” downplaying visible signs of decline. Maddow’s colleague, Joe Scarborough, a personal friend of Biden, went further, asserting in March 2024 that Biden was “better than he’s ever been intellectually” after spending time with him. Such statements painted a picture of a vigorous leader, ignoring moments like Biden’s 2021 incident of falling multiple times while boarding Air Force One or appearing disoriented at the G7 Summit in 2024, where he wandered off during a parachutist demonstration.
These incidents were not isolated, yet the media framed them as minor or misrepresented them as “cheap fakes” manipulated by right-wing outlets. Biden’s 2023 fall at an Air Force Academy graduation and his incoherent remark during the June 2024 debate, “We finally beat Medicare!” were downplayed by outlets like CNN and MSNBC, which focused on his prepared speeches rather than unscripted moments.
Joe Scarborough goes full state TV:
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 6, 2024
"Biden is far beyond cogent. He is better than he has EVER been intellectually, analytically. He is the best Biden ever."
pic.twitter.com/QxgYVINQrV
White House’s Role in the Cover-Up
The Biden administration actively reinforced the media’s narrative. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly deflected concerns about Biden’s health, calling videos showing his confusion “cheap fakes” and insisting he was “as sharp as ever.” In one instance, after Biden’s disastrous June 2024 debate performance, Jean-Pierre attributed his struggles to a cold or jetlag, claiming she had to be “on top of her game” to keep up with him. Similarly, National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby, who spent extensive time with Biden, denied witnessing any cognitive issues, even post-debate. These statements were not just deflections but deliberate attempts to obscure the truth, as evidenced by later revelations that Biden’s aides privately discussed his limitations as early as 2023.
The administration’s tactics extended beyond denials. Biden held fewer press conferences than any modern president, limiting opportunities for scrutiny. When reporters raised questions about his health, they faced pushback or were “blackballed” from briefings, as one journalist reported. This controlled environment allowed the White House to manage Biden’s public image, with aides reportedly debating in 2023 whether he might need a wheelchair if re-elected.
Top Biden advisor Ron Klain claims
— Proud Elephant 🇺🇸🦅 (@ProudElephantUS) July 12, 2024
Joe Biden is actually "sharp," "fit," and "on top of his game.”
Do you believe him? 🤣pic.twitter.com/12V30ya8Sp
The Book: A Flawed Attempt at Redemption
In May 2025, CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson released Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, a book claiming to expose the Biden administration’s efforts to conceal his cognitive decline. The book, based on interviews with over 200 sources, details episodes like Biden’s disorientation at a 2024 fundraiser where he failed to recognize George Clooney. Media outlets have since portrayed the book as a shocking revelation, with some journalists, like CBS’s Jan Crawford, admitting Biden’s decline was “undercovered.” However, this narrative is riddled with inconsistencies and serves as a self-serving attempt to absolve the media of complicity.
The book’s premise—that the media was unaware of Biden’s condition—is dubious. Tapper himself dismissed concerns about Biden’s health as late as 2022, calling him “sharp mentally” and suggesting critics were peddling Russian disinformation. Thompson’s Axios similarly reported Biden as a “healthy, vigorous” leader. Their earlier defenses of Biden undermine their current claims of ignorance. Critics on X have called the book an attempt to “rewrite history,” noting the improbably swift timeline of its production—written and published within months of Biden’s 2024 debate collapse—suggesting it capitalizes on a known issue rather than uncovering new truths.
Moreover, the book glosses over the media’s active role in dismissing Republican warnings. For years, outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and MSNBC criticized reports on Biden’s age as right-wing talking points, with The Times publishing a 2024 piece titled “For Joe Biden, What Seems Like Age Might Instead Be Style.” The Wall Street Journal’s 2024 report on Biden’s decline was slammed by CNN’s Reliable Sources for relying on Republican sources, despite later being validated. The book fails to address this pattern of deflection, instead framing the media as victims of White House deception rather than willing participants.
For years we were told Biden was on the top of his game, hadn’t lost a step! Now we find out that the White House physician said he would need to literally be put in a wheelchair if he fell one more time. The Biden era lies and betrayals continue to mount. pic.twitter.com/tTywKkwsic
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 13, 2025
The Cost of Deception
The media’s refusal to scrutinize Biden’s health had profound consequences. As CBS’s Jan Crawford noted, earlier reporting could have prompted a Democratic primary, potentially altering the 2024 election’s outcome. The public’s trust in journalism has eroded further, with many Americans, as reflected in X posts, believing the media “carried water” for Biden to protect Democratic interests. This perception is compounded by the media’s selective outrage, which often focused on former President Donald Trump’s falsehoods while ignoring Biden’s health issues.
The deception also raised national security concerns. If Biden’s aides were managing his limitations, questions arise about who was truly making critical decisions. As one X user put it, the cover-up “caused untold damage to America,” a sentiment echoed by those who argue that lying about a president’s health should be a prosecutable offense. The media’s failure to challenge the White House’s narrative left the public uninformed about the leadership of the nation.
Final Thoughts
The media’s handling of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline represents a betrayal of public trust. CNN’s Jake Tapper, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Joe Scarborough, alongside White House officials like Karine Jean-Pierre, perpetuated a false image of Biden’s fitness, dismissing Republican concerns as partisan smears. The release of Original Sin attempts to shift blame to the Biden administration, but its authors were complicit in the very cover-up they now decry. The book’s rapid production and selective omissions reveal it as an opportunistic effort to profit from a scandal the media helped sustain. Americans deserved transparency about their president’s health, but instead, they were fed a narrative that prioritized political loyalty over truth. The fallout from this deception will linger, reminding us that a free press must hold power accountable, not enable its concealment.
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