Comedian Jon Stewart knocked CNN anchor Jake Tapper and his network for promoting a new book focusing on former President Biden’s mental decline, much of which contains reporting from during Biden’s presidency.
“You’ve prepared an entire smorgasbord …. based on what you thought would be a relatively uncomplicated story about mental decline. News has the countdown clock, they got the book graphics, they got the ‘CNN Happy Meal’ tie-in toys, but now doing the story seems almost disrespectful,” Stewart said on Monday’s edition of “The Daily Show,” referring to Biden’s recent cancer diagnosis. “Can CNN thread the needle? How do you pivot from excitedly promoting your anchor’s book to somberly and respectfully promoting your anchor’s book?”
The comedian’s comments were first highlighted by Mediaite.
Tapper and journalist Alex Thompson report as part of their new book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” that aides around the former president were kept in the dark about the severity of Biden’s mental decline and discussed the possibility of him using a wheelchair should he win a second term.
Tapper and Thompson have faced some blowback for what critics say was the withholding of information about Biden’s condition during the final few months of his presidency.
President Trump and others have argued the book’s revelation proves an effort by mainstream media outlets to turn a blind eye to the severity of Biden’s condition during the 2024 presidential election.
“Forgetting about the fact how f‑‑‑ing weird it is that the news is selling you a book about news they should’ve told you was news a year ago for free,” Stewart said, “… it’s just fun … to watch them not only continue to push the book in light of this difficult news, but to actually frame this difficult news as perhaps even more of a reason to buy this book.”