The reaction to Jake Tapper’s and Alex Thompson’s book about how the White House “hid” Joe Biden’s mental decline has been brutal – and fittingly so. But their book inadvertently reveals something even worse about today’s corporate journalists.
Tapper and Thompson would have us believe that they were shocked! shocked! to discover that Biden was suffering serious and worsening mental infirmities while president, because the White House had so expertly hidden them. And that it was only through their intrepid reporting that the truth can now be told.
This is laughable on its face.
The stories the authors recount were all known by journalists all along. How else could they have churned out a book in a matter of months after Biden left office? Every story in that book, every one, was known to White House reporters who diligently refused to report them at the time. That includes “revelations” in the book such as that:
A small, tight-knit group in former President Joe Biden’s inner circle was running the White House like a ‘politburo,’ and they were the ‘ultimate decision-makers’ as Biden’s health and cognitive function continued to decline.
Tapper himself was one of the worst offenders. Just watch any of the long and damning collection of clips circulating on social media, like the one below, showing Tapper parroting White House talking points.
What’s amazing about it all is that even as they were covering for Biden, reporters knew the public wasn’t buying their spin. Polls consistently showed that vast majorities of the public were concerned about Biden’s mental infirmities. Our latest I&I/TIPP poll, which we will report on Wednesday, finds that by a stunning 2-to-1 margin, Americans agree that the media covered up former Biden’s mental infirmities.
So, every attempt to downplay or ignore Biden’s cognitive incapacity served only to diminish the corporate media’s trustworthiness. But that was the price they were willing to pay to protect their guy.
What’s so ludicrous about Tapper and Thompson’s book is that they want to regain their credibility by saying that they — professional journalists — were more gullible and more easily duped than your average Joe. “We aren’t corrupt, just incompetent,” is their defense.
But what struck us most is a quote from the book – which we have not and will not buy – describing how the White House put the kibosh on a story questioning Biden’s mental acuity in late May 2024.
Here’s how Fox News describes it:
The book details one specific instance of the White House successfully killing a story when, ‘weeks’ before the explosive Wall Street Journal story detailing concern about Biden’s decline came out in June, Steve Ricchetti, former White House deputy chief of staff, strongly denied claims that the president was slipping to another journalist.
‘[A] reporter with a different national news outlet had been hearing from White House aides that behind the scenes the president was having serious and disturbing moments, forgetting names and facts, sometimes seeming seriously confused at meetings,’ the book read.
‘The reporter reached out to members of the White House press office, which not only aggressively—and angrily—disputed her reporting but also took the unusual step of having Steve Ricchetti call her,’ the book said. ‘He talked to her off the record, so she couldn’t use any of what he said or even attribute it to “a White House source.” But he told her that everything the others were saying was false, and that he was at the meetings as a counselor to the president.’
According to Tapper and Thompson, the Biden White House was going all out trying to control the perception of his health.
‘The message from the White House was clear, this reporter believed: If she went forward with the story from anonymous aides, the White House would aggressively dispute it, on the record, and portray her as a liar,’ the book reads. ‘The tacit threat worked.’
The tacit threat worked.
A tacit threat from the Biden White House was enough to get a “watchdog” reporter to turn tail and run. No doubt, a major contributing factor was the reporter knowing that no other mainstream journalist would back her up.
In fact, after that Wall Street Journal article came out, Tapper devoted himself to debunking it, as the new clips above show.
Contrast that with the same corporate media’s reporting on Trump – or any Republican for that matter.
Does anyone believe that a “tacit threat” from the Trump White House would dissuade a reporter from running a story based on anonymous sources?
Anyone … ? Bueller … ?
Quite the contrary. The flimsiest and most far-fetched stories that make Trump look bad, that are based entirely on anonymous sources, that the White House vociferously disputes, and that more often than not turn out to be completely bogus, get front-page treatment. Then they get picked up by every other corporate news outlet, shouted about on social media, and cried about by celebrities and late-night talk show hosts, until every American has heard the tale.
When these Trump stories turn out to be false, the press either buries that fact or doesn’t bother updating their readers. (A journalistic crime for which no one is ever held accountable, which will further bury their reputation. Our I&I/TIPP poll finds that 84% of those who believe the media covered up Biden’s infirmities also said it was important to hold the media accountable for doing so.)
So, what we have, by their own admission, are “mainstream” news types who will dance to whatever tune their masters in the Democratic Party play, no matter how much damage it does to their own reputations.
There’s a term for this sort of profession, and it isn’t “journalist.”
— Written by the I&I Editorial Board
TIPP Picks
Selected articles from tippinsights.com and more
1. The Truth About South Africa’s Anti-American Agenda—Victor Davis Hanson, The Daily Signal
2. Trump Was Right To Shame South African President—Jarrett Stepman, The Daily Signal
3. The West’s Assault On The African Family—Travis Weber, The Daily Signal
4. Take The Deal, President Trump—Ron Paul, The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
5. Iranian Diplomats Suspect Trump Using Talks As Instrument Of Sabotage—Max Blumenthal, The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
6. Is Israel Capable Of Taking Out Iran’s Nuclear Sites?—Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal
7. Told Netanyahu Not To Disrupt Iran Nuclear Talks: Trump—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
8. Things Aren’t Going So Well For Netanyahu, But All Is Not Lost—Wallace White, DCNF
9. Why Ending The War In Ukraine Is So Difficult Now—Connor O'Keeffe, Mises Wire
10. A Week Long Drone Fight Which Russia Is Winning—Moon of Alabama, The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
11. The Stalemate Gambit—Editorial Board, TIPP Insights
12. Donald Trump’s Lack Of Critical Thinking Skills With Respect To Russia And Ukraine—Larry C. Johnson, The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
3. SignalGate 2.0 And The Casual Indifference To War—Abigail R. Hall, The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
14. Making Palestine Go Away—Philip Giraldi, The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
15. What Is The Rationale Behind Current US Tariff Policy?—Frank Shostak, Mises Wire
16. The Blair-Bush Project In Syria That Brought Al Qaeda To Power—Vanessa Beeley, The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
17. Israel Approves Largest West Bank Settlement Expansion In Decades—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
18. The New Cold War With China—Daniel Green, The Daily Signal
TIPP Market Brief – May 30, 2025
Your Morning Snapshot
📊 Market Snapshot
- S&P 500: ▲ 5,912.17 (0.40% )
- 10-Year Yield: ▼ 4.424%, (5.3 basis points)
- Crude Oil (WTI): ▼ $60.92 (1.49%)
- Bitcoin (BTC): ▼ $105,062.09
- US Dollar Index (USD): ▲ 99.53 (0.21%)
- Gold: ▲ $3,317.28 (0.94%)
Bigger Charts: $SPX | $TNX | $WTIC | $BTCUSD | $USD | $GOLD
📈 Featured Stock
Our pick for today’s featured stock
📰 News & Headlines
Long-Term Prosperity: Investing in America's Economic Pillars—Lee Samaha, The Motley Fool
GE Aerospace (GE): A Bull Case Theory—Ricardo Pillai, Insider Monkey
⭐Recent Featured Stocks
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD) (5/29)
Carvana Company (CVNA) (5/28)
Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (HIMS) (5/27)
Roblox Corp (RBLX) (5/23)
Rubrik, Inc. (RBRK) (5/22)
Oddity Tech Ltd. (ODD) (5/21)
Sezzle Inc (SEZL) (5/20)
Groupon, Inc. (GRPN) (5/19)
Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) (5/16)
Deutsche Bank (DB) (5/15)
More here
🧠 Macro Insight
- ▼ Futures dip as Trump tariffs stay in place pending appeal, injecting new trade uncertainty.
- U.S.-China talks stall, with hopes riding on a direct call between Trump and Xi.
- Core PCE data is due, with investors watching the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge for policy clues.
- Wall Street still ends May strong, with major indexes posting solid monthly gains despite volatility.
- Crude edges up ahead of Saturday’s OPEC+ meeting, where another output hike is expected.
📅 Key Events Today
Friday, May 30
● 08:30 AM ET – Core PCE Price Index (Apr, YoY & MoM)
The Fed’s preferred inflation measure is critical for rate expectations.
● 09:45 AM ET – Chicago PMI (May)
Snapshot of Midwest manufacturing activity and business conditions.
