Original Sin

Damning and well-documented. * TELEGRAPH *A scathing account of an elderly, egotistical president cocooned from reality seeking re-election in 2024 despite significant concerns about his declining health and cognitive abilities. * GUARDIAN *Tapper and Thompson’s portrait of a decrepit American president is devastating… Original Sin succeeds because it has a strong thesis and an arresting narrative, delivered in made-for-TV episodes. * FINANCIAL TIMES *A fascinating insight… this book shines a blinding light on the extent to which Joe Biden was ageing rapidly, becoming tired and confused and patently unfit for a second term in office. * iNEWS *Explosive … Tapper and Thompson have done the [Democratic] party a favor. Some sort of reckoning is due for the disastrous missteps that that paved the way for Trump’s return. * MICHELLE GOLDBERG, co-author of POLITICAL CORRECTNESS *[The] most significant book to date about Biden’s cognitive decline. * ATLANTIC *Superbly reported … Reads like a Shakespearean drama on steroids. * LOS ANGELES TIMES *Original Sin is not really a ‘campaign book’—its account of the 2024 election largely ends after Biden drops out—but its simple assessment of the race is more compelling than anything else I’ve read about it … Original Sin is rarely better than when Tapper and Thompson are writing—with extensive reporting and clear-eyed prose—about the disaster that Biden caused … Over the next year, dozens of books will appear that attempt to explain this election. It’s hard to imagine any doing better than that. * WASHINGTON POST *A damning, step-by-step account of how the people closest to a stubborn, ageing president enabled his quixotic resolve to run for a second term. * NEW YORKER *Original Sin is a comprehensively sourced autopsy of the agonised end to Biden’s 50-year career. It’s accusatory, indignant, righteous – and convincing. * NEW STATESMAN *

Jake Tapper is the chief Washington correspondent for CNN. An Emmy Award-winning TV journalist and twice New York Times-bestselling novelist, in 2024 he chaired the Trump-Biden debate that began the unravelling of the president’s re-election campaign. A Dartmouth graduate and Philadelphia native, he lives in Washington, DC with his family.

Alex Thompson is a national political correspondent for Axios and a CNN contributor. Before that, he created Politico’s West Wing Playbook newsletter and worked at the New York Times and Vice News. A Harvard graduate, he lives in Washington, DC.