Original Spin: Tapper's Attempt to Rewrite History
The media's memory hole has a fancy new dust jacket
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: A longtime CNN anchor, who spent the better part of a decade swatting away any mention of Joe Biden’s mental decline like a fly at a donor dinner, writes a book exposing how the dirty, disingenuous media worked overtime to hide, deny, and outright lie about Joe Biden’s mental decline. And no, it’s not a sketch from SNL (although maybe give Dana Carvey some time).
Yes, Jake Tapper—a man who literally was the media—has put on his Serious Journalist Glasses and co-authored Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. It’s the literary equivalent of dumping oil in the ocean and then writing an op-ed titled “We Need to Talk About Pollution.”
Tapper, who once accused Lara Trump of “mocking a candidate’s stutter” when she dared to suggest Biden might not be firing on all cylinders, now says—with tremendous humility, he’d like you to know—she was right all along. “I was wrong,” Tapper told Megyn Kelly, despite earning a seven-figure salary for scolding anyone who pointed out that Grandpa Joe was prone to confusing current leaders with long-dead ones. The richest part? Tapper now wants credit for breaking a story that actual journalists and the alt-media have been reporting on for years.
They want us to think this is some sort of dramatic media reckoning. I’d say it’s more of a wrecking; an “Oops, Our Bad Tour” minus any actual apology or accountability.
In their shocking exposé that will shock only folks with the IQ of a lava lamp, Tapper and co-author Alex Thompson of Axios lay out scenes that, in 2020, would’ve gotten you flagged for medical misinformation: Biden forgetting names, struggling to stand, needing a wheelchair, and failing to recognize his close pal George Clooney (which might be a felony in California). I have not read the book, but I did tune into the authors’ entire fiery two-hour interview with Megyn Kelly, which I highly recommend watching; it’s a masterclass in media aikido. Save a few yeah, sure, we could have covered his age and acuity a little more aggressively, Tapper and Thompson spent the entire time pointing fingers at Biden’s aides, White House insiders, and a host of anonymous sources for obfuscating truths that, curiously, conservative correspondents could spot from orbit. They’re not the criminals here; they’re the victims. “We were just lied to,” is their bulletproof defense.
We know the feeling.
From the book’s Amazon description:
Naturally, fellow lamestream media pundits can’t rain enough praise on Original Sin.
In other words, “Wow! We had no idea! And looky here, these two didn’t either!”
Jon Stewart blasted CNN for promoting the book, saying, “Forgetting about the fact how f‑‑‑ing weird it is that the news is selling you a book about news they should’ve told you was news a year ago for free… it’s just fun… to watch them not only continue to push the book in light of [Biden‘s cancer diagnosis or revelation thereof], but to actually frame this difficult news as perhaps even more of a reason to buy this book.”
Joy Behar is furious that Tapper turned on his own party instead of writing about Trump’s alleged cognitive decline.
Radio host Charlamagne tha God accused Tapper and CNN of complicity and called out the suspiciously timed prostate cancer announcement. (Nothing screams “journalistic integrity” like weaponized urology.)
And John Q. Public isn’t buying the just-two-clueless-dudes bit for a minute.
Here’s the real jaw-dropper: Tapper now admits the signs were there as early as 2015—back when the media’s toughest question for Biden was “Cup or cone?” And yet he has the audacity to write and then try to sell a book about how other people failed to ask tough questions. Sir, you were in the front row. You had the mic. You had the audience. You were practically sitting in the president’s lap.
Let’s be honest: Original Sin isn’t journalism—it’s reputation rehab with a $27 sticker price. It’s not that the book’s premise is wrong. Biden was clearly unfit to run the country (or, frankly, to run a blender). It’s just that watching the guy who helped gaslight the nation into believing otherwise trying to paint himself as some brave whistleblower is falling flatter than a sippy cup of weeks-old Coke.
Is it helpful to finally acknowledge the cover-up we all saw in real time with our own eyes? Sure, I guess. Is it heroic? Not even a little. It’s embarrassing, insulting, and about as believable as an email from a Nigerian prince.
You couldn’t pay me to read Tapper and Thompson’s hardbound bit of unapologetic drivel, but knock yourself out if you’re so inclined. Just don’t forget who helped write the rough draft.
Are you planning to purchase this travesty of perfectly good trees, even out of morbid curiosity? Share your thoughts in the comments.
I’d buy it if I had the opportunity to smack Tapper in the face with it.
Shameless hackery. An absolute wagonload of horseshit in an effort to make money on their own mendacity.