Political analyst Mark Halperin delivered a scathing takedown of CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s upcoming book “Original Sin,” dismantling the narrative that Tapper was among the few journalists who dared to question President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline before his catastrophic June debate performance. Halperin, on his show “Next Up with Mark Halperin,” eviscerated the premise that there was some grand media cover-up preventing reporters from exposing Biden’s obvious deterioration. Instead, he argued that the signs were blatantly obvious—yet the liberal media, including Tapper, chose to downplay or ignore them.
The publisher of Tapper’s book released a promotional video attempting to portray him as a fearless truth-seeker, highlighting select clips where he briefly touched on Biden’s age. But Halperin wasn’t fooled. He played the full segments, revealing how Tapper and CNN consistently soft-pedaled the issue, treating Biden’s alarming lapses with kid gloves rather than journalistic rigor.
Tapper’s Fluff Interview with Biden (2022)
In one damning example, Halperin revisited Tapper’s October 2022 interview with Biden, where the CNN anchor opened by wishing the then-president a happy early 80th birthday before meekly citing a poll suggesting Democrats wanted a different 2024 nominee.
“So he wishes him happy birthday. He asks him about one poll. He’s not asking him about what was already in evidence then, which is mental decline. He’s simply saying there’s a poll that says Democrats don’t like you,” Halperin said. “That’s not a guy who was determined to get beyond just asking about a poll. That’s a guy who wanted to wish that president a happy birthday.”
Where was the hard-hitting journalism? Where were the follow-ups on Biden’s frequent gaffes, his confusion, his limited public appearances? Instead, Tapper treated Biden like a kindly grandfather rather than a sitting president whose cognitive state was a national security concern.
Karine Jean-Pierre’s Spin and Tapper’s Weak Pushback (2023)
Halperin then exposed Tapper’s August 2023 interview with then-White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, where she laughably claimed Biden’s staff struggled to “keep up with” him. Tapper let the absurd remark slide without challenge.
“Here again he asked the pro-forma question,” Halperin noted. “She bats it away with one of their usual lines of spin: ‘Oh, he’s so energetic, he runs circles around the younger staff.’ There’s no evidence of it—it’s a made-up piece of spin, and he seemed to accept it there.”
Kate Bedingfield’s Dismissive Laugh (2024)
Perhaps the most egregious example was Tapper’s February 2024 interview with former Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield, where she chuckled off Biden’s memory lapses as irrelevant to voters.
“Here is perhaps the biggest tell of all: if you’re a reporter and you are determined to get to the bottom of this—if you think there may be a cover-up at the highest levels of the government, a potential constitutional crisis—you would not treat Biden officials with humor or lightness,” Halperin blasted. “You would be tough and determined to get to the bottom of it.”
The Obvious Signs the Media Ignored
Halperin pointed to Biden’s infamous September 2022 moment when he called out for the late Rep. Jackie Walorski, seemingly forgetting she had died in a car crash weeks earlier. “I don’t understand how there could be a cover-up of something that was on television on a nearly nightly basis,” Halperin said.
The truth is, the liberal media didn’t miss Biden’s decline—they enabled it. While they obsessed over every word from President Donald Trump, they gave Biden a free pass, refusing to hold him accountable. Now, as Trump surges in the polls, the same media elites scramble to rewrite history, pretending they were always skeptical of Biden. But the American people aren’t fooled.