A new book claims Biden’s team tried to suppress media coverage of his mental and physical decline, with one aide allegedly issuing a veiled threat to a reporter.

Allegations of Pressure, Denial, and Media Suppression

A new book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson alleges that former President Joe Biden’s inner circle engaged in aggressive tactics to suppress reporting about his mental and physical decline. According to Original Sin, Biden’s former deputy chief of staff Steve Ricchetti delivered what a journalist interpreted as a tacit threat, discouraging her from publishing a story based on concerns raised by White House aides.

The book recounts how, weeks before a high-profile Wall Street Journal report exposed internal doubts about Biden’s cognitive health, a reporter from another national outlet was preparing a similar piece. White House press officials reportedly responded with anger and strong denials, then escalated the matter by having Ricchetti contact the journalist off the record—preventing her from attributing any of his comments.

“He told her that everything the others were saying was false,” the authors wrote, “and that he was at the meetings as a counselor to the president.” The message she reportedly took away: If she published the story based on anonymous sources, the White House would aggressively discredit her publicly.

The book describes the White House’s broader efforts to counter narratives about Biden’s health. Democrats who spoke to the Wall Street Journal for its piece on Biden’s acuity were later encouraged by the administration to retract or clarify their comments. One congressman, according to the book, admitted he was asked to call the outlet back and reaffirm the president’s sharpness.

Fallout and Media Self-Examination

The administration’s media strategy drew sharp criticism from various figures, including Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who dismissed the Wall Street Journal article as “BS,” and claimed Biden remains the “wisest, most knowledgeable person in the room.” However, not all reactions were favorable to the administration’s narrative.

Radio host Charlamagne Tha God accused Tapper and his network, CNN, of complicity in covering up Biden’s decline. Speaking on-air, he said the book was “too little, too late,” and suggested that the recent disclosure of Biden’s Stage 4 prostate cancer was timed to preempt revelations in the book. “They’re all complicit in not calling a thing a thing in regards to President Biden,” he said.

Charlamagne’s colleague, Morgyn Wood, added, “Stage 4—you’re not wrong about that,” raising further questions about the timing and transparency surrounding Biden’s diagnosis. Meanwhile, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a former Biden COVID advisor and cancer specialist, stated on MSNBC that Biden likely had cancer since the beginning of his presidency.

“He probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021,” Emanuel said. “I don't think there's any disagreement about that.” The implication that such a serious condition was kept from the public for years adds to the growing scrutiny over how Biden’s health was communicated—and potentially concealed.

At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, co-author Alex Thompson noted, “President Biden's decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of party, is capable of deception.” The controversy may continue to unfold as the public and press demand greater transparency from those in the highest office.