Health decline to wheelchair use: 10 bombshell claims about Joe Biden in new book

CNN journalists' upcoming book reveals the chaos surrounding President Biden's health decline and re-election campaign efforts.

With the 2024 election cycle still fresh in political memory, CNN journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's new book pulls back the curtain on the ageing president Joe Biden’s final days in power and a party in crisis

The new book Original Sin by CNN's Tapper and Thompson sheds light on President Biden's health decline and the Democratic Party's challenges. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP)(AFP)

Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again hits shelves on 20 May, but early revelations already exposed how far senior White House aides went to shield Biden’s health decline from the public.

Based on over 200 interviews, largely with Democratic insiders, the book lays bare the backstage chaos and desperate attempts to keep Biden’s re-election campaign alive. 

Here are 10 of the most shocking takeaways from bombshell Biden book:

• White House aides reportedly considered putting Biden in a wheelchair due to his increasingly slow, unsteady walk but later ruled out for political reasons. His doctor, Kevin O’Connor, reportedly said that “if he had another bad fall, a wheelchair might be necessary for what could be a difficult recovery.”
• After Biden tripped over a sandbag at the Air Force Academy in 2023, staff went into overdrive. They gave him trainers to improve his grip, added handrails to steps, and stood close by to prevent any potential stumbles.
• Just to minimise risk, aides plotted shorter walking routes and gave Biden detailed visual briefings before public appearances. Everything was choreographed to reduce unpredictability.
• “We attempted to shield him from his own staff so many people didn’t realise the extent of the decline beginning in 2023,” a senior aide claimed in the upcoming book.
• White House doctor, Dr. O’Connor, frequently clashed with senior aides about Biden’s demanding schedule. “Biden’s staff were trying to kill him, while he was trying to keep him alive,” he is quoted in the book quipping.
• O’Connor, however, told reporters in July 2024 that the president’s “health and mental acuity were excellent.”
• Following Biden’s disastrous presidential debate against Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer visited him in Delaware and bluntly warned: “You will go down in American history as one of the darkest figures.” Biden’s response? “You have bigger balls than anyone I’ve ever met.”

• The book reveals that following the debacle, senior Democrats scrambled to reassess whether Biden could win and many were told he still could.
• Former Kamala Harris campaign aide revealed Plouffe’s fury after Biden’s late exit from the race. “He totally fed us,” Plouffe said, calling the 107-day sprint against Trump “a fing nightmare.”
• Despite the physical toll, Biden pushed ahead with his campaign, and it was “all Biden”