A forthcoming book about former President Joe Biden accuses officials and aides of covering up the health problems of the onetime commander in chief. The authors, both reporters with mainstream media outlets, claim Democratic partisans did everything they could to prevent the public from knowing how serious Biden’s health issues were during the 2024 presidential election.
The book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” alleges that top aides worked behind the scenes to hide what the authors call the president’s mental and physical decline from public view. Several news outlets have obtained early excerpts ahead of the book’s release on May 20.
According to The New York Times, the book claims that the president’s inner circle “wrapped him in a protective political cocoon.”
Just the latest
The book was written by CNN journalist Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson. It adds to a growing list of books analyzing Biden’s presidency, many of which have sparked headlines and public scrutiny.
Media coverage of the book has come from across the political spectrum, with left-, center- and right-leaning outlets offering varying coverage on the content:
- CBS News: “New book claims Biden was ‘out of it’ while prepping to debate Trump.”
- USA Today: “Joe Biden didn’t recognize George Clooney at 2024 campaign fundraiser, new book says.”
- New York Post: “George Stephanopoulos described Biden as ‘heartbreaking up close’ according to new book.”
- The Hill: “Book excerpts paint dim picture of aging Biden in last year’s campaign.”
Reactions from both sides of the media
This latest book includes some of the most detailed allegations of the former president’s cognitive decline to date. Before diving into those details, it’s the varied media responses to the ongoing revelations are worth noting.
Liberal outlets have largely expressed feelings of betrayal, with commentators saying they were misled and lied to about the allegations in multiple Biden books. Conservative commentators have largely suggested that the books simply confirm what they had been saying all along.
Left-leaning media soundbites
Jake Tapper said the White House was deceiving everybody.
“The bottom line is the White House was lying — not only to the press, not only to the public — but they were lying to members of their own cabinet, White House staffers and donors about how bad things had gotten,” he told CNN.
“Ashley, do you feel lied to?” Ashley Allison, CNN analyst, was asked during a CNN roundtable discussing the book “Uncharted,” written by Chris Whipple.
“Yeah, I do,” she responded. “I worked for Joe Biden. If the people around him knew he was not capable, it is unacceptable that they allowed him to go onto that stage. I deserve better as a voter.”
Right-leaning media soundbites
Fox News host Jesse Watters said the world could have seen this news months ago in his channel’s reporting.
“You can just watch Fox, and you don’t have to buy books from CNN,” Watters said. “He’s getting paid to write a book about what we were saying four years ago.”
Greg Gutfeld agreed with his fellow Fox News host, saying, “I am tired of these books. The books are now just an admission of guilt.”
Book reveals wheelchair discussion among aides
According to Tapper’s book, Biden’s advisers privately discussed using a wheelchair due to his “physical deterioration,” but ultimately decided the optics would hurt his reelection chances.
“Biden’s physical deterioration — most apparent in his halting walk — had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn’t do so until after the election,” said an excerpt from the book, obtained by Axios.
The book also claims that Biden’s physician, Kevin O’Connor, argued with top aides to schedule more rest time, indicating the presidency was taking a toll on Biden’s health.
Reports of forgetfulness involving longtime associates
The book alleges Biden forgot the names of several people, including:
- Mike Donilon, an aide who had worked with Biden since the 1980s
- Former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan
- Actor and Democratic donor George Clooney
- Kate Bedingfield, former White House communications director
Clooney fundraiser incident
According to an excerpt published in The New Yorker, Biden didn’t recognize Clooney at a June 2024 fundraiser:
“Clooney felt a knot form in his stomach as the president approached him.
‘You know George,’ the assisting aide told the president, gently reminding him who was in front of him.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ the president said.
‘It seemed clear that the president had not recognized Clooney.’
‘George Clooney,’ the aide clarified.
‘Oh, yeah! Hi, George!’
Clooney was shaken to his core. The president hadn’t recognized him, a man he had known for years.”
Anonymous sources and party silence
The book cites over 200 sources, but as The New York Times notes, nearly all remain anonymous.
“The book is so reliant on anonymous sourcing — very few aides or elected officials are quoted by name — that it reveals the enduring chill that Mr. Biden’s loyalists have cast over a Democratic Party still afraid to grapple publicly with what many say privately was his waning ability to campaign and serve in office,” The New York Times said.
Biden and team respond
An unnamed Biden spokesperson told Axios, “We are still waiting for someone, anyone, to point out where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or make a presidential address where he was unable to do his job because of mental decline. In fact, the evidence points to the opposite — he was a very effective president.”
When asked directly about the allegations during an appearance on The View, Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden pushed back.
“They are wrong. There’s nothing to sustain that, number one,” former President Biden said. “Number two, think about what we left with. We had an insurrection when I started. So we went to work and got things done.”
“The people who wrote those books were not in the White House with us,” the former first lady added. “They didn’t see how hard Joe worked every single day.”
More books coming
Another book is on the way from a New York Times reporter, which reportedly details how Biden’s staff didn’t want him to take a cognitive test during the 2024 campaign. That book is set for release in July.
Biden told The View he is currently working on a book as well.
