2025 lookback: Media's credibility fractures again after Biden mental decline exposed
The media faced another reckoning in 2025 when details of former President Joe Biden’s apparent mental decline in office, and the cover-up orchestrated by his team, were revealed after years of pushback on the notion he wasn’t fit for office.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper and journalist Alex Thompson co-wrote "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," an account of the cover-up that features high-level Democratic sources. The book, which was released in May, was mocked by critics who noted CNN and other mainstream outlets downplayed or were even hostile to the suggestion that Biden could be losing his grip before the infamous debate against President Donald Trump.
Tapper’s network was among the most egregious offenders.
Videos of Biden freezing up or appearing confused at various events went viral throughout 2024, but the White House aggressively pushed back, saying some of them were edited in a misleading fashion or didn't show what they purported.
The term "cheap fakes" was popularized, and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted from the podium that fact-checkers and mainstream outlets also embraced the term.
CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz pushed the White House’s narrative last year about a video of Biden appearing to freeze up at a fundraiser with Jimmy Kimmel, saying Biden had merely "looked out at the crowd for a few seconds" before walking offstage with President Barack Obama, adding that "Republicans and right-leaning media outlets" "used this moment to say that President Biden froze."
Moments later during a panel discussion, CNN commentator and former Kamala Harris adviser Jamal Simmons called Biden's fundraiser moment an "obviously selected video."
"These are cheap fakes, [as] the White House and Biden people are calling them," Simmons told CNN's Erin Burnett.
However, Tapper suggested he felt differently when promoting his book, which featured numerous anecdotes of Biden appearing confused, tired and out of step, all while his team publicly proclaimed he was completely fit. In one infamous moment confirmed by George Clooney, Biden appeared to forget who the famous actor was when they spoke face-to-face.
"The Biden White House falsely — when people showed that clip and asked what was going on — said it was a ‘cheap fake.’ They did this all the time when there was video that seemed to show Biden acting in an odd or unusual, seemingly out-of-it way, they would call it a ‘cheap fake.’ It was not fake. It was actual video," Tapper said in May.
Prior to Tapper’s about-face, CNN also cited experts expressing concern about "ageism," including in the aftermath of the Robert Hur report that portrayed Biden as forgetful and confused during an interview.
Ex-CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy repeatedly hammered proponents of the idea that Biden was in mental decline in his "Reliable Sources" newsletter before leaving CNN last year.
Some conservatives took aim at Tapper directly, alleging he was part of the cover-up and tried to "re-write history" with his book.
In October 2020, Tapper touted the Biden talking point, even showing a clip from the DNC convention of a 13-year-old Biden supporter with a severe stutter who turned to the Democratic nominee for inspiration, during a tense exchange with then-Trump 2020 campaign advisor Lara Trump (now a Fox News host), who drew attention to Biden's cognitive decline at a campaign event.
"How do you think it makes little kids with stutters feel when they see you make a comment like that?" Tapper asked indignantly after showing a clip of Lara Trump commenting on Biden struggling for words.
"First and foremost, I had no idea that Joe Biden ever suffered from a stutter," Lara Trump responded. "I think what we see on stage with Joe Biden, Jake, is very clearly a cognitive decline – "
"Okay," Tapper quickly interrupted while talking over her. "It's so amazing to me — a ‘cognitive decline.’ I think you were mocking his stutter. Yeah. I think you were mocking his stutter and I think you have absolutely no standing to diagnose somebody's cognitive decline. I would think somebody in the Trump family would be more sensitive to people who do not have medical licenses diagnosing politicians from afar."
After Lara Trump insisted Biden's cognitive decline was "very concerning," Tapper cut the interview short.
"Thank you, Lara. I'm sure it's from a place of concern. We all believe that," Tapper sarcastically told her before ending the interview.
Tapper has since said he feels "humility" about his past work on Biden and praised conservative media outlets for discussing what was in plain sight. Tapper has even suggested that he covers Trump’s age more aggressively to make up for overlooking Biden.
While Tapper’s book helped bring the issue to the forefront, CNN was hardly alone in its gentle coverage of Biden.
The Washington Post used the term "cheap fakes" line to shield Biden from scrutiny as early as July 2022 in a fact check accusing a Republican National Committee social media post of painting "a misleading picture of mental fitness" based on a viral moment Biden had while in Israel. It defined "cheap fakes" as "the practice of misrepresenting events that take place in a video by adding or leaving out context."
SHIELDING BIDEN: JOURNALISTS SHED LIGHT ON THE MEDIA'S COVER-UP OF A WEAKENED PRESIDENT
Fast-forward to June 2024, when The Post published a lengthy report combating Republicans sharing embarrassing clips of Biden during his trip to Normandy, including when he awkwardly paused while bending to sit down as others remained standing.
"Such deceptively edited videos, known as ‘cheap fakes,’ have become staples of Republican attacks against the president," The Post told readers at the time.
NBC News accused Republicans of pushing a "false" narrative by claiming Biden was wandering aimlessly at the G7 summit.
"Experts have warned that while advanced technology like generative artificial intelligence can spread misinformation, so-called cheap fakes that often use only minor or selective editing can be more effective at spreading false narratives," NBC News wrote.
The New York Times ran a story with the headline "How Misleading Videos Are Trailing Biden as He Battles Age Doubts," insisting the viral clips were either "edited or lack[ed] context," and CBS News released a report sounding the alarm on "cheap fakes" and their impact on the upcoming election, echoing the White House's claim that Biden is "victim to a simpler version of ‘deepfakes.’"
MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace condemned the "highly misleading and selectively edited videos," calling out the "insidious" trend from right-wing media.
The Associated Press ran its own fact-check attempting to debunk the claim that Biden froze at the L.A. fundraiser.
"CLAIM: Biden froze onstage during his fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday night and had to be led away by Obama," AP wrote. "THE FACTS: Biden paused amid cheers and applause as he exited the stage with his predecessor following an interview moderated by late-night host Kimmel."