5 of the Biggest Bombshells From Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's New Book About Joe Biden

In the new book, Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, out on May 20, CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson explored former President Joe Biden's life and political career, including his "disastrous" 2024 race as well as his physical and mental decline.

One of the biggest revelations was about Biden allegedly failing to recognize George Clooney during a record-breaking fundraiser hosted by the Michael Clayton actor and Julia Roberts ahead of the 2024 election.

When Biden arrived, Clooney reportedly felt "a knot in his stomach" as he watched the then-president walk around to greet the donors.

"Thank you for being here," Biden told Clooney, according to the book.

"You know George," an aide told Biden, who evidently did not recognize his longtime pal.

When the aide specified it was "George Clooney," Biden replied, "Oh, yeah! Hi, George!"

According to Tapper and Thompson, the interaction left Clooney "shaken to his core," adding, "Clooney had expressed concern about Biden's health before — a White House aide had told him a few months before that they were working on getting the president to take longer steps when he walked — but obviously the problem went far beyond his gait. This was much graver."

During the same star-studded fundraiser, Biden sparked concerns when he "walked to the edge and, after waving and giving a thumbs up, stopped and stared blankly into the crowd."

Per the book, the event prompted Barack Obama, who had already walked offstage, to turn around, grab Biden's arm and guide him backstage.

"Obama didn't know what to make of how his former running mate was acting. At one point, in a small group of a few dozen top donors, Biden began speaking — barely audibly — and trailed off incoherently. Obama had to jump in and preside. At other moments, during photos, Obama would hop in and finish sentences for him," Tapper and Thompson added in the book.

In Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, top Harris advisor David Plouffe blamed Biden for Kamala Harris' "f----- nightmare" campaign.

"He totally f----- us," he declared, adding, "We got so s----- by Biden, as a party."

An unnamed aide also told Tapper and Thompson, "We attempted to shield [Biden] from his own staff so many people didn't realize the extent of the decline beginning in 2023."

While the source said they "love Biden," they noted it was "a disservice to the country and to the party for his family and advisers to allow him to run again."

Another insider, who claimed to be a democratic strategist, criticized Biden's reelection bid, calling it an "abomination." They told the author the ex-POTUS "stole an election" from the Democratic party and the American people.

Tapper and Thompson wrote that Biden's aides privately began planning for him to use a wheelchair if he were to win the election and serve a second term.

"Biden's physical deterioration — most apparent in his halting walk — had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn't do so until after the election," the authors shared, noting the team felt it was "politically untenable" to use an assistive device.

However, White House physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor was reportedly at odds with Biden's team as he believed the use of a wheelchair would be unavoidable if the former president suffered another fall.

Amid Biden's decline, his longtime aides allegedly shielded him from his Cabinet secretaries throughout 2023 and 2024.

Multiple Cabinet members told Tapper and Thompson that others noticed Biden "would occasionally be mumbling and not making much sense."

"I don't think he has dementia," the authors quoted a Cabinet secretary. "But the thing is, he's an old man. The president can give you four to six good hours a day. When he got tired, sloppy isn't the right word, but his guard was down."

Another Cabinet secretary said of Biden's aides, "It's hard for an adviser to be honest with the principal. If he had asked me, I would have told him, 'Do one term and you're done to preserve your legacy.'"

Meanwhile, a third secretary recalled seeing Biden "disoriented" and "out of it" during one rare meeting. They added his inner circle wanted to keep him happy and away from bad news.

"The staff did him wrong," the Cabinet member said. "If you were with him every day and you knew this was a problem, why didn't you go to him and say something?"