CNN anchor Jake Tapper publicly acknowledged on May 20, 2025, that he had privately apologized to Lara Trump for dismissing her concerns regarding Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities during a heated 2020 interview that gained significant attention at the time.
During an appearance on Sirius XM’s The Megyn Kelly Show, Tapper expressed a sense of “tremendous humility” about his previous coverage of the former president, while promoting his new book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.”
The book, co-authored with Axios reporter Alex Thompson, explores how Democratic insiders allegedly concealed Biden’s declining condition from the public, largely motivated by fears of a second Trump administration.
Tapper admitted that Lara Trump had identified something he had overlooked at the time, taking full responsibility for it during his conversation with Kelly.
When questioned by Kelly about whether he had apologized to the president’s daughter-in-law, Tapper explained that he had reached out to her months ago to express his regrets. He noted that their discussion was positive and that Lara Trump clarified she did not intend to mock Biden’s stutter.
The CNN anchor explained the timing and context of his apology, stating that after researching for his book and understanding the seriousness of Biden’s cognitive challenges, he contacted Lara Trump to acknowledge her correctness.
This acknowledgment comes almost five years after their October 2020 exchange on CNN’s “State of the Union,” when Tapper abruptly ended their interview after showing a video of Trump commenting on Biden’s speech patterns.
In the initial interview, Tapper aired footage of Lara Trump saying about Biden, “Every time he comes on stage and they turn to him, I’m like, ‘Joe, can you get it out. Let’s get the words out, Joe.'”
Tapper accused her of mocking a disability and questioned how such remarks could affect children with stutters who saw it.
At the time, Trump denied knowing about Biden’s history with stuttering and claimed her comments were focused on cognitive issues. She stated during a 2020 interview that what was visible with Biden appeared to be a decline in cognitive abilities.
Tapper quickly dismissed her evaluation at the time, asserting she seemed to be mocking his stutter and lacked the authority to assess his cognitive decline.
Kelly directly challenged Tapper about his handling of the 2020 exchange, suggesting he attempted to “humiliate” Mrs. Trump for raising concerns about Biden that Tapper’s own book now supports.
The revelation comes amid increased scrutiny of media coverage during Biden’s presidency, with Tapper and Thompson’s book alleging a significant cover-up of the former president’s condition by his inner circle and family members.
In their interview with Kelly, the authors mentioned speaking with over 200 Democratic insiders after the 2024 election, many of whom admitted to downplaying Biden’s condition due to worries about a potential Trump win.
Tapper explained during the interview that they justified their actions, including misrepresenting the president’s condition, by arguing that Donald Trump posed an existential threat and only Joe Biden could defeat him.
According to the book, aides described “two Bidens” — one competent and one visibly impaired. Tapper and Thompson reported that signs of decline appeared as early as 2015, after the death of Biden’s son Beau, and worsened during Hunter Biden’s legal issues.
Kelly’s interview also addressed Tapper’s role in covering Biden’s presidency, particularly a CNN interview he conducted shortly after a September 2022 incident where Biden publicly asked, “Where’s Jackie?” while searching for Indiana congresswoman Jackie Walorski—who had died in a car crash weeks earlier.
Kelly implied that Tapper had not questioned Biden about certain instances of mental confusion, and the CNN anchor acknowledged that he had not done so.
Tapper defended his approach by noting the interview covered important topics including foreign policy and the war in Ukraine, but admitted in hindsight he wishes he had been more assertive in questioning Biden’s mental acuity.
Lara Trump, now co-chair of the Republican National Committee, reignited criticism of her exchange with Tapper last year by posting the 2020 footage alongside screenshots of headlines about media distrust.
The book’s release has sparked significant controversy, with critics accusing Tapper and CNN of hypocrisy for allegedly downplaying Biden’s condition until after he left office. In response to growing criticism, The Daily Beast reported that Tapper and Thompson have hired crisis communications expert Risa Heller to assist with the book’s rollout.
“Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” was released on May 20, 2025, and has already reached the top of Amazon’s bestseller list. The revelations come just days after Biden publicly announced that he has stage four metastatic prostate cancer, further intensifying discussions about transparency during his presidency.
