The cover-up of Joe Biden’s obvious physical and cognitive decline during his presidency (2021–2025) isn’t just a political scandal—it’s a betrayal that should have us seething. Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson exposes how Biden’s aides, family, and Democratic allies hid his frailties, ignoring stark warnings like Special Counsel Robert Hur’s February 2024 description of Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” This was as gentle and sanitized description as you could hope for, yet his inner circle, who didn’t want to further point out the obvious comparison to the Trump’s record scandals, could only shrieked that Hur’s words were pejorative, exposing their agility and hypocrisy in dodging the truth about Biden’s decline. The timeless wisdom of Humpty Dumpty and The Emperor’s New Clothes—tales warning of fragility’s fall and the folly of denying plain truth—was cast aside, leaving a shattered president and tattered legacy in its wake.
This cover-up matters because it jeopardized the heart of our nation’s leadership. Original Sin reveals a presidency run by at best a “five-person board with Joe as chairman,” with aides like Steve Ricchetti and Annie Tomasini shielding a president limited to a six-hour daily “functional window” (10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., per The Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2024). If Biden was forgetting aides’ names or struggling to recall his national security adviser, as the book claims, who was making critical calls on issues like Ukraine or nuclear policy? Robert Hur’s exact words—“a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”—from his classified documents probe weren’t just a jab; they questioned Biden’s capacity to lead. Yet, the White House blocked House Oversight Chairman James Comer’s 2024 subpoenas for aides and Dr. Kevin O’Connor, and Attorney General Merrick Garland defied demands for Hur’s audio. This secrecy screams: who was really running the show?
The deception gutted public trust. By dismissing health concerns as “cheap fakes” or blaming Biden’s catastrophic June 27, 2024, debate performance on a “head cold,” aides like Karine Jean-Pierre gaslit voters, Congress, and their own party. The New York Times notes Democrats’ fixation on Trump’s threat blinded them to Biden’s decline, but lying about the president’s fitness isn’t strategy—it’s treachery. The result? Trump’s 2024 victory, catapulted by voter disgust, as David Plouffe’s “We got so screwed” in Original Sin confirms. Kamala Harris, stuck with a 107-day campaign after Biden’s July 21, 2024, withdrawal, never had a chance. This cover-up didn’t just lose an election; it imploded the Democratic party.
Humpty Dumpty teaches that what’s fragile will fall, and no effort can undo the break. Biden was that egg, wobbling at 78, his spinal arthritis, verbal fumbles, forgetting names, falls and now we know about his stage 4 prostate cancer. Aides called him “Grandpa who shouldn’t be driving,” yet they propped him up like a scene from the movie Weekend at Bernie’s betting his 2024 run could defy reality. The June 2024 debate was the splat: Biden, incoherent and frail, shocked 81 million viewers, his competence shattered. The Atlantic called it the cover-up’s collapse, with stories like Biden failing to recognize George Clooney or limping through meetings undeniable. The wisdom of Humpty’s fall—acknowledge fragility before it breaks. “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again.“
The Emperor’s New Clothes warns that denying obvious truth for appearances’ sake fools only the deluded. Biden’s aides wove invisible robes of vigor, scheduling his day to end by 5:00 p.m., scripting every word, and shielding him from bad polls, per Original Sin. They hired a vocal coach for his fading voice, used sneakers to avoid falls, and limited cabinet access, with The Wall Street Journal noting aides briefed intermediaries, not Biden. Post-debate, Jean-Pierre and Bates peddled “jet lag” excuses, despite Hur’s cognitive warning. Comer’s subpoenas? Blocked. Hur’s audio? Buried. This was a con, with aides puppeteering a faltering figurehead.
Jill Biden and son Hunter were master tailors, feverishly weaving the illusion of Joe’s vigor to keep the emperor’s robes intact. Original Sin reveals Jill as the chief seamstress, fiercely championing his 2024 re-election bid despite aides’ whispers of his cognitive lapses, like forgetting longtime allies’ names. Her May 2025 defense—“They didn’t see how hard Joe worked”—rang hollow against reports of her orchestrating private family meetings to limit scrutiny of his frail public appearances. Hunter, ever the loyal apprentice, hovered close, deflecting health concerns by touting Joe’s resilience in media interviews, even as his own legal troubles culminated in Joe’s controversial December 2024 pardons, a move Original Sin frames as prioritizing clan over country. Together they tried to mead the Emperor’s New Clothes but ignored the lesson: no thread can cloak the truth forever.
Democrats were the courtiers, nodding at fake robes despite Hur’s report and Original Sin’s accounts of decline. Jaime Harrison later regretted no primary, but why didn’t he act? Dean Phillips, who challenged Biden, was shunned, showing loyalty trumped reality. Even post-debate, most dawdled, dooming Harris. The media, too, lagged—The Daily Beast called it “the worst-kept secret in Washington,” yet Jacqui Heinrich faced scorn for age questions, and Chris Cillizza’s 2024 apology for not pushing harder was tardy. Only Clooney’s New York Times op-ed and Doggett’s call to quit echoed the child who saw the emperor’s nakedness.
This cover-up was no innocent white lie. It was a calculated scam, with aides gaslighting the public, a family clinging to power, and a party too cowardly to act. The emperor was naked, Humpty was cracked, and no amount of spin could hide it. We should be furious—not just at the cover-up, but at a party that let it fester. It’s time we let the disinfecting light of transparency and accountability flood the halls of government!
