New Book Excerpts Renew Dispute Over Biden’s Memory

New excerpts from the paperback edition of Original Sin have revived a dispute over Joe Biden’s memory while he was president. The volume, written by CNN host Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson, says Biden once appeared to believe his son Beau was still alive and battling cancer. Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015.

The book also says Biden seemed to have forgotten that Bob Dole, a former Senate colleague, had died. Biden had delivered an approximately 18-minute televised eulogy for Dole at Washington National Cathedral in December 2021, the book says.

A spokesperson for Biden rejected the account about Beau, saying Biden has felt the loss every day since his son’s death and accusing the authors of profiting from a false claim. Thompson urged readers to consider the book for themselves. The updated edition includes material that was not in the original, published in May 2025.

The authors’ claims add to a wider dispute about how closely Biden’s health and fitness for office were scrutinized. Tapper has said he regrets not pursuing questions about Biden’s decline more aggressively. The book also alleges that aides shielded Biden from public scrutiny and describes other purported memory lapses.

Biden exited the 2024 presidential contest after a poor debate performance against Donald Trump, saying it was in the best interests of his party and the country to step aside. Trump went on to defeat Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic nominee.

Biden’s Grief Isn’t Proof of a Memory Failure

A disputed account in the new edition of Original Sin is being used to cast fresh doubt on Joe Biden’s fitness, but Biden’s spokesperson says the claim about his son Beau is a lie that exploits a family’s grief. The spokesperson said Biden has felt the pain of Beau’s death every day since 2015.

The volume written by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson says Biden once seemed to believe Beau, who died of brain cancer, was alive and fighting the disease. It also says Biden appeared to forget that former senator Bob Dole had died, despite delivering a televised eulogy for him in 2021.

Those claims deserve scrutiny, but so does the broader record of how Washington handled questions about Biden’s health. Tapper has acknowledged that he did not investigate Biden’s decline as aggressively as he now believes he should have. The book alleges Biden’s aides kept him out of public view, while Tapper’s admission underscores how late the questioning came.

Biden dropped his bid for a second term in 2024 after a disastrous debate against Donald Trump, saying he would focus on his presidential duties. The new paperback material, which was not in the book’s original May 2025 edition, renews the argument over what aides and journalists knew and when they pursued it.

New Biden Memory Claims Intensify Questions About His Fitness

Fresh allegations in the updated edition of Original Sin deepen the questions raised by Joe Biden’s performance in office and the failure to confront his condition sooner. The book says Biden once seemed to think his son Beau was still alive and fighting cancer, and at another point appeared to forget that Bob Dole had died.

The Dole episode is striking: Biden had delivered an approximately 18-minute televised eulogy for the former senator in December 2021. The book’s authors, Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, also say Biden’s aides kept him away from public scrutiny while his health worsened.

Biden’s spokesperson denies the account about Beau, saying the former president has felt his son’s loss every day since his 2015 death and accusing the authors of profiting from a falsehood. That denial does not erase the separate account involving Dole or the public questions that followed Biden’s disastrous 2024 debate performance.

Biden withdrew from the reelection race after the debate, saying he would stand down and focus on his duties. Tapper has since said he regrets not pressing harder on questions about Biden’s health. The paperback edition adds material absent from the book’s original May 2025 release, renewing scrutiny of both Biden’s condition and the people responsible for examining it.