Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Jake Tapper Visibly Uncomfortable As He Stammers Defending Against Claims His Biden Book Is ‘Money Grab’

Screenshot/YouTube/Stephen A. Smith

CNN anchor Jake Tapper appeared uncomfortable and repeatedly stammered on Wednesday as he denied writing his new book on former President Joe Biden’s decline and its cover-up for financial gain.

Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson on May 20 published “Original Sin,” which is already on The New York Times best seller list and has prompted widespread media coverage. Host Stephen A. Smith on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” asked Tapper to address what he said were left-wing claims that “this book is a money grab.”

WATCH:

“In terms of the left, it’s ‘a money grab’ — I mean, that’s not the case. It’s not,” Tapper said. “This is — I don’t — I don’t want to get into where my money comes from, but I — I’m, you know, CNN is my main job and that’s where my main source of income — by far.”

“Very few people write books to make money. You write a book because you want to say something. You want to have a legacy, you want to uncover something, you have a message you want to get out there,” he continued. “I don’t think people write books about Joe Biden to make money. We are — we are gratified that people are buying this book — but, but, I don’t think — I mean, the idea that I would do this for money is — is — it’s just — it’s silly and not true.”

Tapper has also received significant criticism for writing the book based on his failure to probe Biden’s cognitive decline prior to his disastrous June 2024 debate.

For instance, NewsNation host Chris Cuomo argued on May 21 that Tapper and Thompson’s book is itself a cover-up — of how the media had desired for Biden to defeat President Donald Trump — as it claims Biden’s inner circle hid his decline, hindering the media’s ability to cover it.

“I do believe the book is a cover for something. It’s a cover for something that’s much more serious to me than Biden’s age and stage ever were: the reality that many in the media knew damn well that Biden was losing it, but they played it down because they wanted Trump to lose more,” Cuomo said. “The original sin is not hiding Biden’s age and stage, but hiding this preference.”

Tapper himself has repeatedly acknowledged that he did not cover Biden’s decline adequately and that he reflected on his reporting “with humility” during interviews promoting the book.