Though it has rightly generated criticism for one of its coauthors, Original Sin is a vital account of the White House cover-up of Joe Biden’s decline.
Joe Biden’s was a presidency encumbered by chronic, preexisting conditions. The overarching condition was a mythologized persona—avuncular, vibrant, warm—long curated by Biden and guarded by his compliant staff. In exchange for this devotion, Biden had left a long trail of disenchantment among those who knew and worked with him. In 2012, the New Yorker profiled Jeff Connaughton, a Biden Senate staffer who became a lobbyist, about his time with “Scranton Joe.” Connaughton recalled how, in 1994, he needed a reference for a job opportunity in the Clinton White House and asked Ted Kaufmann, then Biden’s chief of staff, if the senator would make a call on his behalf. Biden refused. “Jeff, don’t take this personally,” Kaufmann reportedly told Connaughton. “Biden disappoints everyone. He’s an equal-opportunity disappointer.”
Jake Tapper admits he didn’t vote for Biden but still fell for the Democrats’ lies which shaped his reporting:
"What was shaping my reporting was.. a lot of people lying to us. I should have been more skeptical.. They were lying to us."
pic.twitter.com/DZ5cCDbutw— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 31, 2025
h/t Mauser
