Chris Barker

Original Sin is a mean-spirited but undeniably effective work of journalism, portraying Joe Biden’s fateful decision to run for president a second time.

Jake Tapper and co-writer Alex Thompson draw from hundreds of interviews with people close to Biden, including aides and high-up members of the Democratic Party, and make a convincing case that Joe was spiralling downhill rapidly during his time as president, particularly during the campaign against Trump.

Whatever the medical cause, it’s clear that Biden was not all there mentally by the end of his term. He repeated stories word-for-word within a few minutes of each other. He confused the names of world leaders and people he’d known for years. The authors unearth genuinely shocking testimony, in particular from George Clooney, who recounts an incident where Biden ‘stared at him blankly’ at a fundraiser in apparent lack of recognition, despite knowing him personally. George Clooney! One of the most recognizable men in the world!

It wasn’t a cold, fatigue, or other circumstantial factors that led to Biden’s spectacular crash-landing. Rather, the president was feeling every one of his years, and was only functional about fifty percent of the time, and even less so outside of his pet subjects like foreign policy.

This had wide-ranging implications, notably explaining why the administration was unable to set a direction on topics like Israel, Healthcare, and prosecuting Trump for his attempted insurrection, and unable to restrain defectors like Manchin and Sinema.

The Biden administration had undeniable accomplishments, in particular leading global support for Ukraine against Russia’s genocidal invasion, but by the middle of his term, Biden was unable to communicate them. He was simply burnt out, tired, and confused.

Biden does not come off well in Original Sin. It is forgiveable and perhaps inevitable, for an octogenarian to lose some of their vitality, but Biden still appears stubborn, petty, and entitled. He seems to have been so intoxicated by his past successes, which were undeniably impressive, as to be in complete denial as to how his abilities had deteriorated.

The most intriguing, and potentially opinionated, aspect of the book is Tapper and Thompson’s depiction of a ‘Politbureau’ surrounding Biden and insulating him from bad news. This group is alluded to by multiple interviewees and apparently consisted of family, close friends, and various aides, who fed Biden slanted polls and unrealistic ideas of his chances of success.

The authors take it for granted that this group was the problem; whether they were really to blame, or if they were an exercise in blame shifting whose role was exaggerated by other members of the administration, is left as an exercise for the reader.

Trump won the 2024 election by less than two points. After reading Original Sin, it’s undeniable that there was a toxic culture of wishful thinking that led to Biden remaining in the race as long as he did. If he had faced reality sooner, American history might have taken a different course.