CNN anchor Jake Tapper admitted on Monday that the concealment of ex-President Joe Biden’s deteriorating mental state could potentially overshadow the Watergate scandal as a more significant cover-up.
Tapper, the co-author of a new book detailing Democratic efforts to hide Biden’s deteriorating health from the public during his 2024 re-election campaign, was asked by Piers Morgan why he concluded in the book – “Original Sin” – that the efforts to prop up the octogenarian former president were not akin to the 1972 burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters that eventually forced Richard Nixon to resign.
“Joe Biden isn’t Richard Nixon, and the attempt to conceal his decline doesn’t compare to Watergate.” While I’m not completely convinced by this assessment, Jake,” said Morgan, who hosts “Piers Morgan Unfiltered,” addressing Tapper and referencing his book.
The CNN anchor pointed out that he views the Biden health cover-up as “a completely different scandal” compared to Watergate yet still deems it significant enough to be called a scandal.
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It is a scandal. There is no doubt about it—perhaps even worse than Watergate in certain aspects,” Tapper confessed, further stating, “Richard Nixon had his wits about him when he wasn’t indulging in alcohol.
Tapper maintained that both he and “Original Sin” co-author Alex Thompson did not intend to absolve by stating that the Biden controversy was not equivalent to Watergate.
“The only reason that we have the Watergate thing in there is because we quote Archibald Cox, who was a Watergate investigator, talking about how powerful the presidency is and how presidents get surrounded by people who have a vested interest in keeping that president propped up.”
This is a completely different scandal,” Tapper emphasized again. “Perhaps even more serious… perhaps even more serious.
When publicizing his book, the CNN anchor did so
drawn criticism
Regarding his previous reporting on Biden, including allegations that he failed to adequately cover the former president’s health issues during his tenure.
“As far as I’m concerned, some of the critique is valid,” Tapper said to CNN earlier this month.
“About myself, absolutely. I won’t speak for anyone else, but understanding now what I didn’t know before, when reflecting on my reporting during the Biden era—which included covering some of these topics, though insufficiently—I approach this with humility,” he said.
When directly asked by Morgan if he owed the American people an apology, Tapper replied: “I believe I should acknowledge to the American people that I wish I had reported on the story more thoroughly.”
Last week, Tapper and Thompson published a book detailing Biden’s increasing health challenges throughout his presidency and how his close advisors tried to conceal his condition with the aim of securing his reelection.
The authors describe an instance where Biden seemingly failed to acknowledge actor and Democratic supporter George Clooney.
That left the movie star
profoundly shaken – and remember how staffers seriously contemplated placing the president in a wheelchair and took measures to prevent him from falling in public.
Biden halted his bid for re-election roughly a month following his poor showing at the June 2024 debate with Donald Trump.
