Former CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza warned Thursday that President Joe Biden is set for a rough two-month period as two upcoming books are likely to portray him negatively. The books—Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, releasing Tuesday, and Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, coming out May 20—are expected to highlight concerns about Biden’s mental and physical state and how his aides allegedly concealed his decline.
Cillizza, appearing on The Morning, predicted that the books would shed light on how Biden’s inner circle hid his deterioration from the public, making him increasingly unwelcome within his own party. He cited The Guardian‘s reporting on Fight, which claims that Democratic officials privately discussed whether Biden should drop out of the 2024 race as early as 2023. The book also alleges that Vice President Kamala Harris’ aides “strategized around the possibility that Biden might die in office.”
Regarding Original Sin, Cillizza noted that the book appears to analyze Biden’s decline and the extent of the cover-up. He argued that Biden’s inner circle knew about his diminished state yet continued to shield him from media scrutiny while insisting he was fine. Cillizza called this a major scandal, suggesting that by the end of May, Biden and his advisers could become even more unwelcome in Democratic circles.
Despite Biden’s willingness to fundraise and campaign for Democratic candidates, insiders report that there is little enthusiasm for his involvement. Biden reportedly met with newly elected Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin in February to offer assistance, but Cillizza believes that enthusiasm for Biden’s presence on the campaign trail will vanish entirely once these books are released.
Cillizza also acknowledged his own past failure to investigate concerns about Biden’s health while at CNN, admitting in December that he should have pushed harder for transparency on Biden’s mental and physical condition.
