A new book chronicling President Joe Biden’s final years in office claims his physical and cognitive health had deteriorated so significantly that White House aides quietly considered placing him in a wheelchair and actively worked to conceal his decline from both the public and much of his staff. Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, authored by CNN journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, is based on more than 200 interviews, mostly with Democratic Party insiders, and is set to be released on May 20.

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The book details how senior officials within the administration engaged in intense discussions about Biden’s worsening physical condition, especially in the wake of a high-profile fall over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy in June 2023. Concerned by his unsteady gait and increasing frailty, aides debated whether the president might require a wheelchair, particularly if he suffered another fall.

 

However, they ultimately rejected that option during his re-election campaign, recognizing the potential political fallout. “Given Biden’s age,” the authors write, referencing the president who left office at 82, his physician Kevin O’Connor “also privately said that if he had another bad fall, a wheelchair might be necessary for what could be a difficult recovery.”

 

The book also uncovers how staff implemented a series of preventative measures to avoid another public stumble. Biden began wearing sneakers more frequently, was offered handrails at public appearances, and routes were shortened to minimize the physical exertion involved in walking. Visual briefings were reportedly prepared in advance of each event so he would be aware of every step he needed to take. “We attempted to shield him from his own staff so many people didn’t realise the extent of the decline beginning in 2023,” one senior aide admitted.

 

Biden didn't recognize George Clooney at fundraiser: New book

 

Beyond the physical precautions, the book outlines growing tensions among Democratic leaders as Biden continued with his 2024 re-election campaign. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer personally confronted Biden at his Delaware home after the widely criticized July 2024 debate performance. According to the book, Schumer warned that if Biden lost to Donald Trump, “50 years of amazing, beautiful work goes out the window.

 

But it’s worse than that — you will go down in American history as one of the darkest figures.” As Schumer turned to leave, Biden placed his hands on his shoulders and said, “You have bigger balls than anyone I’ve ever met.”

 

Privately, Biden’s physician Kevin O’Connor is said to have voiced concern over the toll the presidency was taking on his patient’s health. O’Connor clashed with White House staff over the president’s workload, advocating for more rest and reportedly joking that while Biden’s aides were trying to kill him, he was trying to keep him alive.

 

The decision to remain in the race until late in the campaign cycle infuriated many within the Democratic Party, particularly those working to position Vice President Kamala Harris as a viable successor. David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and joined Harris’s team for the final stretch, told the authors that Biden “totally fed us.” He described the 107-day sprint against Trump as “a fing nightmare,” placing the blame squarely on the president’s refusal to step aside earlier. “It was an abomination. He stole an election from the Democratic Party; he stole it from the American people,” a senior Democratic strategist added.

 

The book also takes aim at the media and the president’s inner circle, suggesting that concerns about Biden’s increasingly visible stumbles, verbal missteps, and signs of confusion were routinely dismissed or downplayed. In the final analysis, Original Sin portrays a presidency in steep decline, surrounded by a network of loyal aides and family members working desperately to maintain a fragile image — even as alarm bells sounded behind closed doors.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Times  2025-05-15

 

 

Waiting for Biden loyalists to claim he's sharp as a tack.

Jake Tapper must suddenly think he's a journalist or something. Knowingly runs cover for a marionette for four years, and then claims to have an epiphany.  

Everyone knew including the MSM who were complicit in the cover up. Now waiting for this to be turned into an anti-Trump thread by the usual brainless sheeple.

The Biden administration lied and the media covered it up. How typical of the anti Trump crowd.

39 minutes ago, Gsxrnz said:

Jake Tapper must suddenly think he's a journalist or something. Knowingly runs cover for a marionette for four years, and then claims to have an epiphany.  

Jake will be going on the Megyn Kelly Show sometime soon, maybe next Tuesday. It will be ineresting to hear her rip him a new a..hole.  It will be at least an hour long, not a quick 7 minute hit like on most cable tv shows. 

 

It is astounding for so many so-called Journalists to NOW be all coming out of the woodwork and talking about Biden. The current narrative is that Biden's evil team in the White House tricked all the good and fair journalists and lied to them. Utter nonsense. Even us armchair quarterbacks at AN could clearly see how Biden was visibly deteriorating. And yet the press, actively supporting the White House, continued to gaslight the public. 

 

It was not a case of the press being lied to. It was a case of the press lying to cover up their candidate of choice. And now that the election is over, trying to resurrect their tarnished image. 

5 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Jake will be going on the Megyn Kelly Show sometime soon, maybe next Tuesday.

I would love to see him on Gutfeld.

But But But...

 

They said he was sharp as a tack.

 

Surely the left wing MSM wasn't lieing to us? I mean, they're the good people, right? 😃   

The Dem way lies, hide, support criminal illegal alien gangs, spend millions on Trans animal experiments, etc. etc. no accountablity for anything. 

54 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Even us armchair quarterbacks at AN could clearly see how Biden was visibly deteriorating.

 

I'm waiting for someone to correlate the acceleration of his decline with a certain event in his healthcare...

 

But then, I like a good wingnut conspiracy theory spoiler alert.

 

Edit:  And I saw the devastating effect that same healthcare event visited on my health.

 

Leave Joe Biden alone.  He just stutters. 

I suspect all these charges are somewhat exaggerated, but even if they aren't, and even if the truth is worse than portrayed here, and I knew it at the time, I would have still voted for Biden (or anyone else) over Trump.

This stuff is priceless. 

 

 

10 minutes ago, WDSmart said:

I suspect all these charges are somewhat exaggerated, but even if they aren't, and even if the truth is worse than portrayed here, and I knew it at the time, I would have still voted for Biden (or anyone else) over Trump.

 

I don't doubt it.  That's what the syndrome does to you...

Remember everyone, the age concern were causes by cheap fakes from the right.   Brian Stelter said so. 

 

 

54 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

 

 

It was not a case of the press being lied to. It was a case of the press lying to cover up their candidate of choice. And now that the election is over, trying to resurrect their tarnished image. 

 

Exactly, the press was gaslighting the public. 

Did they not think this cover up would 'get out'??

Who was running the country while Biden was eating ice cream??

14 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

Did they not think this cover up would 'get out'??

Who was running the country while Biden was eating ice cream??

 

Who had the keys to the autopen room? 

 

They need to learn from this and require the President's fingerprint on every document signed by autopen.  He could have put his thumbprint on 1000 documents in a half hour.

 

I wonder how many pardons were sold and Biden had no clue.

 

3 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

Did they not think this cover up would 'get out'??

Who was running the country while Biden was eating ice cream??

 

This is a good question, and it would be nice for real reporting on this topic.  

1 hour ago, dinsdale said:

by the usual brainless sheeple

 

Actually I sort of agree with you on the cover up aspect.The New York Times was an egregious example, overlooking Biden's increasingly limited capacity and doubling down on the judicial witch hunt on Trump.

 

The bad news for you is that anyone who uses expressions like "brainless sheeple" automatically forfeits the right to be taken seriously.

11 minutes ago, jayboy said:

The bad news for you is that anyone who uses expressions like "brainless sheeple" automatically forfeits the right to be taken seriously.

IMO the pandemic days is an excellent example for the justification of the use this term.

 

He lied and is still on the air. 

 

36 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

 

Who was running the country while Biden was eating ice cream??

His wife. That was the reason she pushed him as much as possible to run (stagger in his case) again.

Then we have the Jake Tapper gaslighting. 

 

 

5 minutes ago, Mike_Hunt said:

He lied and is still on the air. 

 

He lied so he's still on the air.

 

Fixed it fer ya.

 

39 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

Did they not think this cover up would 'get out'??

Who was running the country while Biden was eating ice cream??

In all honesty, this is perhaps the most important question of all. Biden was clearly not capable of running the government especially after 500pm. So just who was making the decisions? I suspect the good Doctor Jill was heavily involved- she was actually showing up at cabinet meetings in the latter days of the Presidency. 

 

It is all well and good for the media to suddenly rediscover their balls and start gently questioning various Democrats about what was going on, but it is about 2 years too late.

 

And for Demcrats, the sad truth is that they not only sabotaged their country, they also gave Trump the election on a silver platter.  That must be the most bitter pill of all for them to swallow. 

A post breaking forum rules and again trying to bypass the forum filters has been removed. @frank83628

4 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

It is all well and good for the media to suddenly rediscover their balls and start gently questioning various Democrats about what was going on, but it is about 2 years too late.

 

Timing is everything here.  Too late to damage the Biden/Harris campaign and maybe in time to flush it through before it affects the midterms.

 

2 hours ago, Gsxrnz said:

Jake Tapper must suddenly think he's a journalist or something. Knowingly runs cover for a marionette for four years, and then claims to have an epiphany.  

 

He is like a lot of the MSM attempting to save their careers that they have now lost.

 

They are all failures.

Gosh

 

Like all the Biden fans and Democrats on this forum, I hardly have anything to say.

 

But here's my take.

 

"Told you so!"