Joe Biden, the oldest man to ever hold the office of President, is once again making headlines—not for a major policy move, not for a diplomatic triumph, but for threatening physical violence against two journalists who had the audacity to document what much of America has already been whispering for months.
At an event in Delaware, the former President was asked about revelations in a new book titled “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.”
Biden, grinning like a man who thinks he just pulled off a clever joke, responded, “You can see that I’m mentally incompetent, I can’t walk — and I can beat the hell out of both of them.”
The two targets of his verbal swing? CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, the co-authors of the tell-all that’s been sending shockwaves through Washington since its release.
Biden’s words weren’t just bizarre. They were a window into a mindset that many critics argue has been dominating the White House during his final year in office.
The book, which draws on interviews with dozens of officials, paints a picture of a man increasingly shielded from reality—both by his own team and perhaps by his own mind.
According to Tapper and Thompson, the president’s decline wasn’t just whispered about behind closed doors. It was apparent to staff, advisors, and political allies.
Yet, the public was treated to staged speeches, tightly managed interviews, and a chorus of aides insisting that everything was just fine.
Everything, it seems, was not fine.
One of the most explosive claims in the book is that senior White House officials were routinely kept in the dark about the President’s cognitive health.
These weren’t interns or peripheral staffers—they were the very people entrusted with executing the most sensitive operations of the United States government.
And yet, decisions were increasingly filtered through a small group of loyalists who acted more like royal courtiers than democratic advisors.
The cover-up, as the authors describe, wasn’t simply about protecting a man from embarrassment. It was about insulating an entire administration from accountability while pushing forward a re-election campaign that many within Biden’s own party considered a mistake from the start.
When asked if he had any response to the detailed reporting in the book or to the growing number of Democrats who now question why he ran for reelection in 2024, Biden didn’t offer substance.
He didn’t refute the claims, provide medical records, or reassure the American people. Instead, he replied, “Why didn’t they run against me then? Because I’d have beaten them.”
A response that’s equal parts bravado and delusion. It's reminiscent of the classic schoolyard taunt: If I’m so weak, why don’t you come fight me?
Of course, it’s not the first time Biden has used macho language to deflect criticism. In past years, he’s joked about taking people behind the gym or challenging political opponents to push-up contests.
But the stakes now are higher than ever. America is a nation on edge—facing international conflicts, economic uncertainty, and technological disruption.
And here stands the former Commander-in-Chief, diagnosed just this month with prostate cancer, joking about fistfights with journalists and sidestepping serious questions about his mental capacity.
His recent cancer diagnosis adds another layer to the growing concerns. The announcement came earlier this month, and Biden used Friday’s impromptu press moment to assure the public that his doctors are “optimistic” about his prognosis.
While the former president looked upbeat, observers couldn’t help but notice that he sidestepped every hard question thrown his way about the actual contents of the book.
There was no denial, no clarification, no promise to release additional health records. Just a grin and a threat to “beat the hell” out of two seasoned journalists.
It’s hardly the kind of statesmanship America remembers from past leaders. And it’s even less convincing when one remembers that this same man, not long ago, stumbled walking up the stairs of Air Force One, lost his train of thought mid-sentence multiple times in speeches, and often appeared visibly confused during public events.
These weren’t isolated incidents, as many claimed at the time. According to “Original Sin,” they were symptoms of a deeper issue—one that insiders had noticed and quietly worked to conceal.
Tapper and Thompson do not offer their narrative as idle speculation. They back their claims with testimony from former staffers, Democratic operatives, and even some officials who continued to work within the administration during the 2024 campaign.
One particularly damning revelation is that Biden’s senior aides were sometimes left to guess whether or not the President would be lucid during major decision-making meetings.
As one staffer is quoted in the book, “There were days when you just hoped he was having a good morning.” This is not a partisan smear. It’s an alarm bell.
While Biden’s defenders might write off the book as opportunistic, it’s hard to ignore the fact that his own party has been increasingly vocal about its frustrations.
Several Democratic governors and Senators privately lobbied for Biden to step aside before the 2024 election, fearing that his deteriorating health would lead to a landslide defeat or worse—a constitutional crisis should he become unfit for office mid-term.
Yet, their concerns were reportedly met with silence or outright dismissal from Biden’s tight inner circle.
The irony, of course, is that Biden ran in 2020 on a promise to restore “normalcy” and “decency” to the White House. He spoke of unity, of a return to the calm and competence that had supposedly gone missing.
But what Tapper and Thompson reveal is a chaotic, isolated, and increasingly opaque presidency—one in which crucial decisions were delayed or derailed by the president’s inability to focus, remember, or engage for prolonged periods. That’s not decency. That’s dysfunction.
And yet, even as these revelations come to light, the political machine continues. President Trump and his allies have seized on the book’s findings as proof that the Democratic Party engaged in a massive cover-up to prop up a failing candidate.
Trump has long alleged that Biden was unfit for office, often mocking him as “Sleepy Joe.” But now, with the book lending credibility to those claims, the attacks have sharpened. Social media is ablaze with clips of Biden’s gaffes, awkward silences, and now his unfiltered threats of violence.
It’s an uncomfortable moment for American politics, where age and health have become dominant narratives for both major party figures.
But where Trump appears energized by the controversy surrounding him, leaning into court battles and policy debates, Biden’s response to scrutiny is increasingly fragile. He lashes out, jokes inappropriately, or avoids the press entirely. And that fragility is not just a personal concern—it’s a national one.
The American public deserves transparency. They deserve to know whether their leaders are capable of performing the job. And they deserve better than a man who answers tough questions with a smirk and a swing.
Even Biden’s defenders are struggling to find footing. They point to legislation passed early in his term or foreign policy achievements, but these accomplishments feel like distant memories.
The more pressing reality is a former president who refuses to acknowledge his own decline, surrounded by advisors too afraid—or too loyal—to speak the truth. Meanwhile, the rest of the world watches and wonders how the most powerful nation on earth could have let things get this far.
The lasting image from Biden’s Friday remarks won’t be one of strength or wit. It will be a moment that confirms what millions already suspected.
That Joe Biden, once the empathetic elder statesman, is now the punchline of a political tragedy no one seems willing to end. His boast about beating up journalists is not merely unbecoming—it’s a symptom of something far worse.
The age of “restoring the soul of America” has turned into the era of deflecting with bravado.
And if “Original Sin” is any indication, the people around him knew it all along.
