On Trust in Biden, Media, Politicians & On Aging: A Conversation with CNN's Jake Tapper

Why Should I Trust You?

Today, we’re joined by CNN's Jake Tapper, who along with Axios' Alex Thompson, are authors of the new book Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. Their reporting is sending shockwaves throughout Washington and beyond--its release landing the same week as the news of the former president’s aggressive cancer diagnosis. The result is a seismic reckoning with Biden’s decision to seek re-election despite visible signs of age-related decline. And Tapper and Thompson have been blasted over whether they did everything they could to hold the president and his team accountable.

We ask: How much did the media know—and not report, including Tapper himself? Why did Biden, his top advisors, and Democratic leaders ignore the overwhelming concerns from the public about Biden’s frailty? And how did that denial deepen America’s distrust in its leaders, its institutions, and the press?

Yes, this is a story about health, aging, and what we expect from our leaders—but at its core, it’s about truth and trust. It is the kind of hard truth about aging and vulnerability that we -- and our systems -- often resist confronting

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Maggie Bartlett

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guest:

Jake Tapper, CNN, co-author, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.

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Chapters

1. On Trust in Biden, Media, Politicians & On Aging: A Conversation with CNN's Jake Tapper (00:00:00)

2. Intro and Headlines: We Welcome Jake Tapper on Biden, Trust and Media (00:00:19)

3. Why Are We Interviewing Tapper? (00:01:50)

4. Trust in the Oval Office (00:02:29)

5. Trust In Media (00:03:13)

6. The Story of Joe Biden and the Election (00:03:55)

7. Joe Biden's Cancer Diagnosis (00:07:30)

8. Polling Done One Year Before Biden's Debate (00:09:31)

9. Welcome to the show, Jake Tapper! (00:14:57)

10. The Subject of the Book and the Reception to It (00:15:38)

11. The Biggest Critiques of the Book (00:16:02)

12. Newsroom Culture Affecting Coverage (00:20:05)

13. Is This Reckoning Good for the Democratic Party? (00:25:45)

14. Covering Biden v Covering Trump (00:28:36)

15. The Cabinet Meetings (00:31:22)

16. Does Trump Give Everyone Cover to Avoid Change? (00:34:24)

17. How Could This Have All Been Different? Choose Your Own Adventure Moment (00:37:48)

18. We Don't Call Out Aging and the Decline That Comes With It (00:42:25)

19. The System Needs to Demand Complete Physicals (00:47:10)

20. Reckoning: Mueller and Russia Coverage Bred Mistrust? (00:49:40)

21. Clooney on Biden (00:54:00)

22. Why Should We Trust You, Jake Tapper? (00:56:40)