Jake Tapper Was Truly ‘Stunned' by One Quote in His New Book
Jake Tapper may have co-authored Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, but even he was surprised by one quote in the book that he says was 'jaw-dropping to me.'
Piers Morgan clearly felt the same way, and asked the CNN anchor about it during an appearance on 'Piers Morgan Uncensored,' his YouTube talk show, on Monday.
The British broadcaster asked Tapper about 'one line that just sprang out to me' in which 'a longtime [Joe] Biden aide says 'He just had to win and then he could disappear for four years. He'd only have to show proof of life every once in a while.''
'It's stunning,' agreed Tapper, who credited his co-author, Axios correspondent Alex Thompson, for getting the quote.
'When we say that almost all of the interviews we did for the book came after the election, that one line is the one exception,' he shared. 'That came before the election. And I was stunned, too.'
Tapper said the anecdote 'really gets at the premise that so many of these Democrats accepted, which is: only Joe Biden has ever beaten Donald Trump.' And that the Republican had 'to be defeated because he's an existential threat to the nation.'
'And if you buy those two premises, then you can really justify almost anything, which is what the Democrats tried to do,' Tapper said.
'I agree with you,' he added. 'That was jaw-dropping to me as well.'
Original Sin has soared to the top of several bestseller lists since its release last week, despite some controversy. It has drawn backlash both from the right—who are accusing Tapper of failing to cover Biden's mental decline when it was most pertinent—as well as the left, who say it draws focus from Trump's dangerous threats to democracy.
The book claims that Biden's inner circle helped to conceal his declining physical and cognitive health as he and his aides insisted he was fit to serve a second term. Democrats are still grappling with his disastrous decision to run again, leading to a last-minute candidate swap that may have cost them the election.
Biden announced last week that he was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has metastasized to the bone.
Amid criticism, Tapper has acknowledged he missed the mark in his previous coverage of Biden. He told Morgan on Monday he feels 'tremendous humility' for telling off Lara Trump in a 2020 interview when she said Biden was in 'cognitive decline.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Republicans clobber Democrats in Congressional Baseball Game for fifth straight year
Republican lawmakers crushed their Democratic counterparts Wednesday at the annual Congressional Baseball Game in Washington, DC. The GOP's 13-2 win over the Dems in Nationals Park marks the fifth straight year Republicans have defeated their political rivals on the diamond. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), who was seriously injured in a ladder fall two years ago, pitched five innings for the GOP, striking out seven Democrats. 9 The Democratic team stood on the field during the national anthem at the annual Congressional baseball game. Getty Images 9 Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) pitched for his party on Wednesday. Getty Images 9 Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) sported his red uniform as he hit a ball during the event. Getty Images 'I am going to take an ice bath tomorrow,' Steube quipped after the game. The MVP award went to Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), who made a spectacular diving catch to end the first inning after Democrats loaded the bases. Pfluger's close play went viral on social media. 'Proud to have been selected MVP for this year's Congressional Baseball Game!' the Texas Republican wrote on X. 'Couldn't have asked for a better support team here in DC! Another huge win for Republicans.' The game was far more subdued than last year's edition, which saw anti-Israel protesters disrupt the national anthem and climate change activists rush the field. 9 U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) fist bumps Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX). Getty Images 9 Scalise holds the trophy after the Republicans win the annual Congressional baseball game at Nationals Park. Getty Images 9 U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) reacts during the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. on June 11, 2025. REUTERS Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) greeted her colleagues in the Democratic dugout at one point during the game and received cheers from the blue team's fans. More than 30,000 tickets were sold for the game, which raised $2.8 million for dozens of charities. 'Team GOP takes the WIN!! 🏆🇺🇸 Proud to take the field with my Republican colleagues tonight and bring home the win,' House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) wrote on X. 'We raised $2.8 million for local charities. We're not tired of winning!' 9 U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson was spotted in the crowd during the game. REUTERS 9 U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) celebrates after running to home plate. Getty Images 9 Both teams celebrate on the field after the Republicans defeated the Democrats. REUTERS In 2017, Scalise was shot by a left-wing extremist during a GOP team practice in Alexandria, Va., a day before that year's edition of the game. Republicans hold an overall edge over Democrats in the series by five games, with 47-42 record.
an hour ago
Democrats look for reinvention and a new playbook against Trump in key committee race
WASHINGTON -- House Democrats are quietly engaged in a behind-the-scenes race for a key committee position, the second time in as many months that the party has had to fill one of the most prized positions in Congress. Four Democrats are running to be the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, an investigative panel with public clout, subpoena power and an expansive portfolio. The position is open due to the death last month of Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia. While Democrats in the minority have little power to shape the committee's work, the ranking member position comes with an enormous platform — and the possibility of becoming chair if the party wins back the majority in next year's midterm elections. Whoever wins will immediately be squaring off against Republicans as they prepare for splashy hearings this summer on immigration enforcement, LGBTQ rights and former President Joe Biden's age and mental condition while in office. As they hear from the candidates, Democrats are weighing many of the factors that were in play late last year, when Connolly, a veteran member of the committee, fended off a challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. A look at how the race is shaping up: The debate over Biden's age coincides with a reckoning over seniority and generational change happening across the Democratic Party. Four House Democrats are running for the position: Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, the acting ranking member; Jasmine Crockett of Texas, a viral sensation; Robert Garcia, a former Los Angeles County mayor who has pitched colleagues on a government reform agenda; and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland, former president of the NAACP and civil rights advocate. While Lynch is the most senior of the four, Democrats broadly said they are more open to breaking from seniority than they were in December, when Connolly, then 74, beat out Ocasio-Cortez, 35, for the job. Democrats are interested in how the candidates would communicate with the public, how they would help support lawmakers in battleground districts — and of course, how they would challenge President Donald Trump and his administration. Crockett, 44, has pitched herself as the candidate best able to compete with Trump's pugnacious and attention-grabbing style. Democrats, Crockett has argued, often fail to connect with voters and explain why the president's actions may be harmful. She believes she can. 'It's a matter of bringing that in, having a hearing and making sure that we are translating it and amplifying it,' Crockett told MSNBC in an interview. 'Communications has to be a full-on strategy.' Garcia, 47, has focused on government reform and effectiveness, a key issue for Democrats after the Trump administration's blitz across federal agencies and mass firings of federal workers by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Mfume, 76, has attracted support from members impressed by his longtime stewardship of the nation's oldest civil rights group. He returned to Congress after decades leading the NAACP following the death of a previous Democratic Oversight chair, the late Congressman Elijah Cummings, a fellow Baltimore Democrat. Lynch, 70, has styled himself as the acting chair and the lawmaker best positioned to take on the committee's chairman, Republican James Comer of Kentucky. 'There are some members who speak to a very narrow audience, and that's great,' Lynch said. 'We want them to be energized and animated. But that same person is not going to go to the Rust Belt with people that are farmers, moderates, conservatives,' Lynch told The Associated Press. 'You need different voices to appeal to different constituencies.' 'I think I have a better chance of bringing back the blue-collar working people, and I have less of a chance of appealing to very younger people who are intensely invested in social media,' Lynch said. The vote for Oversight ranking member is scheduled for June 24 and will be conducted by secret ballot. All four candidates are speaking before multiple caucuses this week, including the New Democrats and the progressive caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. While many Democrats are undecided, others have made up their mind. Some who are privately stumping for their candidate believe it will be a tight race. That makes the public forums and private pitches even more crucial in the run-up to the vote. House progressives are divided over their preferred choice. Three members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — Crockett, Garcia and Mfume — are vying for the ranking member seat, which makes it unlikely the caucus will back a single candidate. 'We're looking for folks that could expose this kind of corruption and hold Trump and his billionaire donors accountable,' said Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, the Progressive Caucus chair. Rep. Brad Schneider, chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, said he's weighing two factors: which candidate could best help Democrats win the 2026 midterm elections and whether they can successfully lead investigations into the Trump administration and 'try to repair some of the damage that's been done.' 'The committee can be a flash point, or it can be a very effective place for us to make our point, and we want to know who's going to do best in that role to make sure the committee works to help us secure 218 (members) next November,' Schneider said. Some Democratic caucuses have traditionally prized seniority as a clear and reliable way for lawmakers of color to rise through the ranks. There has never been a Hispanic Oversight chairman and only one Black chairman, Elijah Cummings. 'The CBC has always stood for seniority,' said Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia. But Johnson noted that the Black Caucus has at times 'deviated' from that norm. He said many in the caucus are open to a conversation about age. 'So, Steve Lynch, I think, is the next senior member. And but as I said, other factors have to be considered and I'm sure that, along with myself, other CBC members are going through that process,' Johnson said. 'Since I've been here, seniority has had weight,' said Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, who said he was undecided on which candidate to back. 'But seniority is not the only thing. And there are times and circumstances where the person with the most seniority has not won. Whether that's one of these times or not is what we're going to see.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
US to withdraw some personnel from the Middle East
STORY: The United States is pulling personnel out of the Middle East, according to President Donald Trump on Wednesday: 'Well, they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place and we'll see what happens. But they are being… we've given notice to move out and see what happens.' Reuters reported earlier in the day that the U.S. is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy in Baghdad, according to US and Iraqi sources, and that Washington will let military dependents leave locations around the Middle East over heightened security risks. It has bases in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. It's less clear why this is happening now. Iraq has been the site of heightened tension and violence since the the start of the war in Gaza in 2023. Iran-aligned armed groups repeatedly attacked U.S. troops, but that has subsided since last year. However, the news coincides with deadlocked US-Iran nuclear talks. Trump nodded to that on Wednesday, too: JOURNALIST: 'Is there anything that can be done to dial the temperature down in the region?' TRUMP: 'They (Iran) can't have a nuclear weapon, very simply.' In a podcast interview out Wednesday Trump said he was less confident Tehran would agree to stop its nuclear program. Meanwhile CNN has reported that U.S. intelligence suggests Israel is preparing for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. Benchmark oil futures rose $3 on the news of the Baghdad pullout, with Brent crude going above $69 a barrel. The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States is due in the coming days. Tehran is expected to hand over a counter proposal after rejecting an offer by Washington.
