SATIRE (unless it isn't)
THE HOAX FILES · 49
Sharp as a Tack, Until the Book Came Out
They called him "sharp as a tack," and a year later a CNN anchor co-wrote the book on it.
White House aides and pundits
For years, the line was "sharp as a tack." Then Jake Tapper co-wrote a book called Original Sin.
As printed on the graphic:
Biden 'Sharp-as-a-Tack' Hoax
What they sold
2021 to mid-2024. White House aides, Democratic officials and friendly pundits kept vouching that President Biden was sharp in private, mentally fit, even impressive. Videos showing confusion got waved off by the press as "cheap fakes" and right-wing edits (Breitbart's catalog of the "cheap fake" line). The media mostly went along.
What the record shows
June 27, 2024: the CNN debate. Biden's performance was so bad that within weeks his own party pushed him out of the race. May 2025: CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios's Alex Thompson published Original Sin. The book alleges that Biden's inner circle hid his decline from the public, the Cabinet and the press (PBS). On Megyn Kelly's show, Tapper admitted he hadn't pressed hard enough on Biden's health and acuity, and said the criticism was fair (Newsweek, The Independent). He said the "cover-up" in the book meant hiding a condition, not a criminal conspiracy (PBS).
That's the receipt. A CNN anchor, in a book, saying the press, his network included, missed it.
The damage
FNN analysis: this is the biggest credibility hit on the list, because everyone saw the debate for themselves. Gallup's 2024 trust was taken that September, after the debate: 31%. One year later: 28%.
Closer
They called the videos "cheap fakes." Then their own anchor wrote the confession and sold it in hardcover. Wake up.