David Axelrod says book’s allegations about Biden’s cognitive decline are ‘troubling’

A forthcoming book by two political reporters claims to reveal extensive details about the physical and cognitive decline of former President Joe Biden, and what the authors describe as a concerted effort by his aides to keep it hidden from public view.

Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, is set for release later this month. NPR’s Morning Edition team has not obtained an advance copy of the book. But an excerpt published in The New Yorker describes several behind-the-scenes episodes, including a now-infamous California fundraiser in June 2024 where Biden appeared disoriented and reportedly didn’t recognize actor George Clooney, a longtime supporter and friend.

David Axelrod, senior CNN political commentator and former adviser to President Barack Obama, told NPR’s Michel Martin that the details in the excerpt were “somewhat stunning.” Axelrod added that what was described was indicative of a deeper issue within Biden’s inner circle, the Democratic Party, and in Biden’s family that, in Axelrod’s view, enabled it to happen.

“What struck me was that when you are president of the United States, fatigue and strain is your daily existence,” Axelrod said. “And this is why I said in 2022 that it was going to be hard to make the case that he should be president for four more years.”

The book joins a growing list of titles scrutinizing Biden’s presidency, with some already released. In Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History, author Chris Whipple discussed how Biden’s family and closest advisers seemed to operate in a “fog of delusion and denial.”

Tapper and Thompson argue in their book that Biden’s decision to run for re-election at 81 was the “original sin” of the 2024 race, followed by what they describe as “aggressive efforts to hide his cognitive diminishment.”

A spokesperson from Biden’s office said the former president did not review the book nor were they contacted for fact checks. They also characterized the book’s release as an effort to make a profit and said. “We continue to await anything that shows where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or where national security was threatened or where he was unable to do his job,” said the spokesperson. They added, “He was a very effective president.”

In his conversation with Martin, Axelrod spoke about the excerpts released from the book and his thoughts on Biden’s decision to make public appearances so soon after leaving office.

Interview highlights

Michel Martin: I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to read the book. The official release date is May 20. But portions have been coming out. There’s an excerpt, for example, in The New Yorker. What strikes you about what’s been reported so far?

Axelrod: I haven’t gotten a chance to read the whole book yet. But the details in the New Yorker excerpt were somewhat stunning. The public saw what was reported there at the event in California with George Clooney and this sort of disconnection of President Biden.

Martin: You’re talking about that high profile fundraiser, which was co-hosted by superstar George Clooney, at which it was reported later that Biden didn’t seem to recognize him, somebody he’d known for years.

Axelrod: The details behind it were troubling. The thing that I was struck by was the reporting on his schedule before this event, and the rigors of what he was up to, and people dismissing his kind of being vacant, not being able to identify George Clooney, a friend of two decades, when he saw him, dismissed it as a function of jet lag and fatigue. What struck me was that when you are president of the United States, fatigue and strain is your daily existence. The presidency is relentless. And this is why I said in 2022 that it was going to be hard to make the case that he should be president for four more years.

Martin: So there were signals of his decline in his public appearances. But Thompson and Tapper write of what they say was a concerted effort to hide how serious President Biden’s health issues were. They have a lot of anecdotes about the various steps that were taken to try to minimize those realities being seen. Is it fair to say that the White House was simply lying about the President’s health?

Axelrod: I don’t know whether lying is the right word. Because I don’t know if there is a particular condition that he was laboring under. What is clear is that they did everything they could to adapt his public appearances and adapt his schedule to his declining condition. And even as they were making the argument to the American people that he was equipped to serve another four years, I think they were motivated by a belief in him, by a desire to see him continue. But it was an irresponsible decision on his part, and I have to say, on his family’s part.

Martin: What do you make of the former president making these public appearances? I mean it’s noteworthy in that, former President Obama, former President George W. Bush, former President George H.W. Bush, rarely made public appearances. What do you make of these appearances that Biden is making? What do you think he’s doing?

Axelrod: The same people who were giving him bad advice before continue to give him bad advice. Because all he’s doing is making the story larger. I thought he was poignant on The View, you know, trailing off at times. And the First Lady jumping in to finish his thoughts. –And it just stirred the whole thing up again. If he’s concerned about President Trump and some of the things that President Trump is doing, then he should want the Democratic Party to be in a position to move on and do well in the midterm elections. Him being out there does not serve that purpose. I think he’s doing himself a disservice. And I think he continues to do the party and the country a disservice. It’d be best to just allow this to pass. But I think he feels strongly that he wants to rebut this book. And I’m not sure that his appearances so far have effectively done that.