'Original Sin' argues Biden aides enabled his reelection bid, despite mental decline

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4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

Original Sin recounts a number of moments during which former President Joe Biden allegedly struggled to recognize the people around him, like close aide Mike Donilon or longtime donor George Clooney. The new book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson argues that there were two versions of the former president, one "functioning" and one "non-functioning." Biden's inner circle, they say, worked to shield the "non-functioning" version from the American public – and even other White House officials. In today's episode, Tapper and Thompson talk with NPR's Scott Detrow about the book and the Biden team's decision to "cover-up" his alleged mental decline.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Books about current day politics can seem
0:08.2	very insidery, right? They can come off as buy Beltway types for Beltway types. But even if you
0:14.8	don't care about rehashing the 2024 presidential election, there's something very human at the core of the new book,
0:22.1	Original Sin. That's the new nonfiction book by reporters Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson,
0:26.8	looking at the alleged mental decline of then-president Joe Biden and the quote, cover-up by
0:32.7	those around him. And here's where it gets to the human part. There are people in this book
0:37.4	whose loyalty
0:38.0	gets tested, who have to ask themselves, am I loyal to Joe Biden or am I loyal to the American
0:43.8	people? Today on the pod, a special episode brought to you by our friends at the NPR
0:47.7	podcast, consider this, a conversation between NPR Scott Detrow and the authors of the book
0:52.6	about their reporting and the reaction from President Biden's camp.
0:56.3	That's after the break.
0:58.4	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
1:03.1	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.
1:09.7	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:17.0	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:22.7	Former President Joe Biden has known Mike Donnellin since 1981. He's been one of Biden's closest
1:28.6	aides for decades. He had a White House desk just steps away from the Oval Office. Yet in 2019,
1:34.7	on a campaign swing in Iowa, Biden struggled to remember Donaldson's name. That's according to the new
1:40.3	book, Original Sin, by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alexe's Alex Thompson. It's one of several
1:46.1	jarring moments reported out in the book, which chronicles Biden's decline over his time in the White
1:51.0	House as well as efforts by his top staff and family to keep that decline hidden from voters.
	...

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