CNN Pundit: Dems To Be Hit With "Equivalent of A Nuclear Bomb"

Jake Tapper, in collaboration with Axios correspondent Alex Thompson, is releasing a book titled Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again on May 20, 2025, published by Penguin Press.

The book focuses on the Democratic Party’s 2024 election defeat, zeroing in on former President Joe Biden’s decision to run for a second term despite concerns about his health and mental acuity, which the authors describe as a “serious decline” that was allegedly concealed by Biden’s inner circle.

Key Points About the Book

Central Thesis: The authors argue that Biden’s choice to seek re-election, despite evident physical and cognitive limitations, was a catastrophic misstep—dubbed the “original sin”—that led to a campaign marked by denial and deception. They claim this decision, driven by Biden’s belief that only he could defeat Donald Trump, ignored his implicit 2020 promise to serve one term and dismissed public concerns about his age, ultimately paving the way for Trump’s return to power. The publisher’s press release calls Biden’s choice “shockingly narcissistic, self-delusional, and reckless,” framing it as a rare act of public deception with significant consequences.

Reporting and Sources: Based on over 200 interviews, Tapper and Thompson provide an inside look at private conversations and decisions within the Biden administration. They claim to have uncovered a “cover-up” of Biden’s declining health, with aides and allies suppressing concerns that became undeniable during the June 27, 2024, CNN debate, which Tapper co-moderated. 

The book asserts that Biden’s debate performance—described as the result of an “eighty-one-year-old man whose faculties had been diminishing for years”—was not an anomaly but a reflection of his ongoing condition.

🚨 CNN’s @ScottJenningsKY is warning “the equivalent of a nuclear bomb is going to be dropped on the Democratic Party when Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's book comes out next week.”

“I don't know that the Democrats have fully internalized what's about to happen to them between… pic.twitter.com/agOlT4oEZk

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) May 9, 2025

Some Democrats have expressed unease about the book’s framing. Politico reported that Biden allies were “shocked” by the “cover-up” narrative, noting that post-election interviews were more candid than those facilitated by Biden’s team during the campaign. Podcaster Tommy Vietor, in an embargoed review, described the book as “enraging,” suggesting it could stir internal party tensions.