On Monday, former NBC chief political analyst Chuck Todd interviewed Jake Tapper on his podcast, The Chuck Toddcast to additional talk about Tapper’s guide Authentic Sin. The guide skyrocketed into the highlight in Might with its exposé of former President Biden’s psychological decline and canopy up. The 2 speculated that the media, nevertheless, have been being handled as a scapegoat for the cover-up, and the actual perpetrators have been the Biden household.
In line with Tapper and Todd, the “unique sin” referenced within the guide was not Biden’s 2024 re-election marketing campaign, however relatively his determination to ever run within the first place in mild of his son, Hunter’s drug habit.
“So for me, the unique sin was working within the first place. As a result of his household was in disaster. I adopted that Hunter Biden trial soup to nuts,” Todd mentioned. “I learn each single transcript. I learn all the testimony. I can’t consider to at the present time, Jake, that Joe Biden did this to his children. I simply can’t consider that he did it. I can’t.”
The trial Todd referenced was Hunter Biden’s felony gun costs, of which he was convicted in 2024. Joe Biden infamously pardoned his son in 2024, regardless of earlier claims that he wouldn’t contain himself along with his son’s points.
The pair continued to debate the “story” of Joe Biden, insinuating that the media was offered a 40-year-old invoice of products by the household. In line with them, the Biden household peddled Joe to the media as a devoted household man, laborious employee, and a kind of figurative martyr to American politics.
Due to this, reporters like Tapper and Todd noticed no have to additional examine one thing as non-public as his private well being. It was the excuse they gave for all media who didn’t report on Biden’s decline: we, the media, have been all lied to.
Whereas which may have been a seemingly good motive to not examine additional into Biden’s psychological decline, there’s something the pair failed to notice: in accordance with his recall, Tapper started noticing the decline in 2020, 5 years in the past. Maybe the Biden household did play a big function within the cover-up of the psychological acuity of Biden, however the media are simply as accountable.
In reality, Tapper famously referred to as out Lara Trump in 2020 for suggesting that Joe Biden was not mentally capable of be President, and even tried to disgrace her by citing the President’s stutter.
The most important query on the desk was not whether or not or not the media was offered a lie by the Biden household, or if Joe Biden was actually as selfless as was claimed, however why the media continues of their cover-up. Somewhat than simply come clean with their very own shortcomings, the media has continued to hawk story after story on why they did nothing incorrect. Reporters, particularly these of the standing of Jake Tapper, have been educated to analyze and never take phrase of mouth at face worth. The one means the media may very well be lied to is that if they refuse to do their job as journalists, reporters, and anchors. At greatest, it’s lazy journalism and at worst it’s the strategic cover-up of Joe Biden’s psychological decline. Both means, accountability needs to be taken by the media, and Tapper and Todd have proven us that’s an unlikely final result.
All the transcript is beneath. Click on “broaden” to learn.
THE CHUCK TODDCAST
6/23/2025
TIME N/A (00:16:20-00:23:12)
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CHUCK TODD: So for me, the unique sin was working within the first place.
JAKE TAPPER: Oh, nicely, sure, I’ve heard you speak about this as a result of–
TODD: As a result of his household was in disaster.
TAPPER: Proper–
TODD: –At the moment.
TAPPER: As a result of his daughter and his son have been–
TODD: I imply–
TAPPER: –hooked on medicine.
TODD: After I– I– after I– I learn– I learn– I adopted that Hunter Biden trial soup to nuts. I learn each single transcript. I learn all the testimony. I can’t consider to at the present time, Jake, that Hunter that– that Joe Biden did this to his children.
TAPPER: So any individual near the household–
TODD: I am unable to consider that he did it. I can’t.
TAPPER: Any individual near the household instructed us, and it is– that is within the guide– that everyone is aware of, you already know, among the household aphorisms like, you already know, “my phrase as a Biden” or, you already know, et cetera, et cetera. A lesser identified Biden household saying is “do not name a fats particular person fats”. And by that they imply, it is not about being– it is not about politeness; it is about hiding truths, not acknowledging truths. And this particular person near the household instructed that there are many truths that the household didn’t wish to resist. One: Beau is dying. Two: Hunter is hooked on medicine. Three: Joe Biden cares about his household greater than he cares about anything.
And people three will not be true, this household– this particular person near the household mentioned. And– and– and that is– if you talked about his working in– in 2020, I feel that that involves bear as a result of, um, clearly he was placing his ambition and– if you wish to be charitable– his hopes to save lots of the nation from Trumpism or no matter, clearly was placing that above what was happening along with his household and his– his two kids and their struggles.
TODD: Look, I imply, you already know, you and I coated, you already know, for many of our skilled lives, the story of Joe Biden was this man cared about his household a lot he commuted house each evening from Washington.
TAPPER: Right here’s the– now, by the best way, right here’s the–
TODD: By the best way, he, you already know what else you may say is that this man was so bold–
TAPPER: Proper. Proper.
TODD: –that after his household went by that tragedy, he commuted daily to work, proper? Prefer it’s the identical story, it’s all about narrative–
TAPPER: He had– he had his sister assist increase his boys.
TODD: and I do not– I sit right here, I take a look at this and the and– and I feel the place we offered a 40 12 months invoice of products?
TAPPER: Nicely, there’s this, and that is within the guide, uh, there’s this legend of Joe Biden, and a few of it’s primarily based in actuality and a few of it’s primarily based in fable, and, and the legend is–
TODD: And by the best way, he’s not the primary president the place there’s been a fable–
TAPPER: Oh, no.
TODD:I imply, my God, in truth, most presidential resumes are– have some fable in them, all of them, you already know, we might sit right here and do it, however anyway, go forward.
TAPPER: Nicely, I imply, you may speak concerning the Obamas’ marriage as a result of I imply like, she by no means wished him to run for president, interval.
TODD: No, oh, I imply, you already know.
TAPPER: And like, I imply she’s been fairly trustworthy and open about that, proper?
TODD: Sure, and that memoir, I imply, yeah. I imply it was fairly clear.
TAPPER: So, the legend, and– and that is among the one of many issues that individuals love about Joe Biden, is this concept that it doesn’t matter what life throws at him, he will get up off the ground and will get again to work. “Rise up,” he says his dad used to say, “stand up.”
TODD: He at all times gave the impression to be choose– discover a method to be optimistic.
TAPPER: Yeah, debilitating stutter, horrible automobile crash that killed his spouse and daughter, two mind aneurysms and on and on and on. That very same high quality, nevertheless, is what paved the best way to this unhealthy determination. This concept that “I am Joe Biden and I can’t be defeated by age. I can’t be defeated by no matter is occurring with my thoughts and my physique proper now. I’ll persevere.” And it is not only a mythology for some individuals within the household and near the household, it is a theology. And like all faith, skepticism shouldn’t be permitted.
TODD: So, one of many issues that I’ve– I have been a bit extra defensive of the general media protection than– than clearly others wish to be, proper? Which means, you already know, I– I feel the blaming the media is an excuse to not blame the precise folks that did this, okay?
TAPPER: Yeah.
TODD: Like, the media is a– look, for higher or for worse we’re a mirrored image– we’re a mirrored image of the perfect model of occasions that we are able to provide you with.
TAPPER: We’re solely pretty much as good as our sources.
TODD: I– I, you already know, and I’ve introduced this up, and I heard you carry this up too, which is the only most tough factor to report out on a politician is well being.
TAPPER: So delicate. Yeah.
TODD: Precisely. There’s– it’s straightforward to frankly get shamed out of doing it. It is “How dare you. It is a non-public factor, individuals’s well being is non-public”.
TAPPER: Take into consideration how insanely delicate individuals are about getting any individual’s faculty transcript.
TODD: Proper.
TAPPER: I imply, individuals are loopy about that. Like that, that ought to actually simply be like automated. You are working for president? Okay, listed below are my grades in faculty, who even cares? However you may’t even get that as a result of they’re so loopy. However yeah the well being stuff, and we noticed this by the–
TODD: And it is not an insignificant factor, and– and I do assume what– I wanna like kind of focus our dialog is that how ought to this alteration kind of our unofficial vetting technique of presidential candidates? As a result of I feel it ought to frankly, we obtained to be extra unpopular in what we do, you already know, Wes Moore desires to inform us about this Bronze Star. Nicely, all proper, we’re gonna like discover out each little factor. How earned was it? How a lot did this occur? And I mentioned, look, I am– I am singling him out as a result of he is perhaps working for president, proper?
TAPPER: Proper. And that’s clearly one thing he is very delicate about, additionally.
TODD: And– and also you and I each understand how political operatives work. Anytime you may determine a subject, should you’re an opponent and any individual that you already know goes to get beneath their pores and skin, you are gonna go 10– you already know, you are gonna go 10x at it, um. But it surely–, I do surprise if the Trump-era and the Biden cowl up, proper, these, the mixture of those two. In concept, it ought to create the only most skeptical press corps for the subsequent decade that we have– we have had in our lifetime. Possibly not since Vietnam and Watergate, what say you?
TAPPER: I agree, I– I agree, and you already know, it is humorous you say that although as a result of the second you say we– it is a lesson we have now realized from Biden, regardless of the lesson is, it ought to now be utilized to each president. The correct wing goes, oh, in order that’s the rationale he wrote the guide on Biden, simply to get at Trump.
TODD: No, no.
TAPPER: Like, no, however I am simply saying like that is the madness of this dialog–
TODD: It is at all times a weird Trump– like there’s at all times some weird Trump angle.
TAPPER: So Trump– so overlook Trump for a second. Let’s speak about post-Trump. Let’s speak about post-Trump, simply to take away that nonsense from this.
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