Biden’s Mental Decline Cover-Up Exposed: CNN’s Role in the ‘Cheap Fake’ Narrative

In a twist that’s as surprising as a plot twist in a political thriller, a new book co-authored by CNN’s Jake Tapper, Original Sin, pulls back the curtain on President Joe Biden’s mental decline during his term—and the elaborate efforts by his inner circle to keep it under wraps. The book, drawing from high-level Democratic sources, paints a stark picture of a White House that dismissed concerns about Biden’s fitness as mere cheap fakes, even as videos of the president appearing confused or frozen at public events flooded the internet in 2024.

Yet, rewind to last year, and CNN itself was among the outlets downplaying these concerns. Take, for instance, correspondent Arlette Saenz, who described a viral clip of Biden seemingly freezing at a Jimmy Kimmel fundraiser as him simply pausing to look at the crowd. Meanwhile, former Kamala Harris adviser and CNN commentator Jamal Simmons brushed off such videos as obviously selected, echoing the White House’s cheap fake narrative. The irony? Tapper himself now calls out the White House for lying about these moments, admitting the clips were real and revealing.

Then there’s the aftermath of the Robert Hur report, which described Biden as an elderly man with a poor memory. CNN’s coverage at the time leaned on experts who argued Biden’s word-recall issues weren’t necessarily a red flag, even suggesting that skepticism about his mental sharpness was rooted in ageism. Ex-CNN reporter Oliver Darcy went further, slamming conservative media for pushing a warped narrative of Biden as senile—only for Biden’s debate performance against Donald Trump to unravel that defense in real time.

Even after Biden exited the 2024 race, CNN commentator Ana Navarro passionately defended his mental acuity, insisting she’d seen him sharp as ever at late-night events. Her loyalty to Uncle Joe and Auntie Kamala—as she affectionately called Biden and Harris—added a personal tint to her punditry. Yet Tapper, reflecting on his own past coverage, now expresses humility and gives a nod to conservative outlets for spotlighting what many missed.

This saga raises a question: when the truth is inconvenient, how far will loyalty stretch? The White House’s spin, backed by some at CNN, tried to rewrite reality—until reality rewrote the narrative.