Jake Tapper’s New Joe Biden Book Has Everybody Talking
And not everybody is happy that everybody is talking about the Philly native's damning book.
Left: CNN host Jake Tapper, who grew up in Philadelphia. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons). Right: Tapper’s new book, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. (Photo via Penguin Press)
Check phillymag.com each morning Monday through Thursday for the latest edition of Philly Today. And if you have a news tip for our hardworking Philly Mag reporters, please direct it here. You can also use that form to send us reader mail. We love reader mail!
Everybody Is Talking About Jake Tapper’s New Joe Biden Book, And Not Everybody Is Happy About That
On Tuesday, Penguin Press released excerpts of a new book by CNN host Jake Tapper, who grew up in Queen Village, and fellow journalist Alex Thompson. And the title of the book couldn’t be more clear: Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.
Based on the excerpts, the book seems to make a very strong case that Joe Biden had no business running for president, that those around him went to great lengths to keep all of us in the dark about that for way too long, and that the end result is that we’re now living under a president that some argue is ending democracy as we know it and plunging the nation into its darkest days.
The New York Times sums Original Sin up with this review headline: “A Damning Portrait of an Enfeebled Biden Protected by His Inner Circle.”
There’s a lot of social media reaction to the new Biden book from democrats and Trump loathers asking why we are now spending so much time talking about the ex-president as opposed to the current one. They say this is an unwelcome distraction from what’s truly important. Of course, we can and should talk about both, and certainly Tapper does quite a bit of talking about the current president on CNN.
Penguin Press will release Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again on May 20th. For more on Tapper’s time in Philadelphia, read this interview with him and longtime Philly scribe Liz Spikol, who was Tapper’s classmate in Center City.
From the Department of What’s Wrong With People?
- A teen just escaped a horrifying situation in South Jersey. It involved her mom, her stepfather, and a dog crate. Ugh.
- Someone put a dog in a trash bag and put said trash bag in a dumpster. But there’s a ray of light here: someone found the dog alive. And police just released a photo of the suspect.
- OK, I know it’s weird to have three sick stories that somehow involve the word dog but… Out of Delco comes news of loud dogs and the allegedly poisoned meatballs meant to stop them from barking.
OK, pardon me while I take a shower.
By the Numbers
0: Cooperation that Montgomery County officials seem to be giving federal authorities in ICE operations in that jurisdiction. We’re sure said officials will be on a prisoner plane to El Salvador before you know it.
1: New cities that Pennsylvania is set to get before to long. Yes, apparently you can start a new city in Pennsylvania. If you tell people in the Far Northeast this, they might just decide to do it. They don’t like the rest of us very much.
$5,035: Deposit you have to make by May 27th if you want to bid on the Wanamaker building. Yes, this huge thing is part of the deal.
Congrats to Us
Well, more specifically to Philly Mag food editor Kae Lani Palmisano. Her fascinating story “Foraging Ahead” has been chosen for this year’s edition of Best American Food and Travel Writing. Kudos, Kae Lani!
Local Talent
For many years, the super spicy Salsa Caliente in Old City was the best dance party in the city. We recognized it as such in 2013 with a Best of Philly award. Sadly, Jesse Malpica-Bermudez, the force behind Salsa Caliente has left this world for another. Tomorrow at Taller Puertorriqueño, Malpica-Bermudez’s work will be celebrated at “La Música Continua,” a benefit party, concert, and celebration of life that raises money for young musicians. More info here.
