CNN’s Van Jones Calls Biden Cognitive Cover-Up ‘A Crime Against This Republic’ [WATCH]

CNN contributor Van Jones warned on Sunday that Democrats could face lasting political damage for concealing Joe Biden’s physical and mental decline during his time in office.

Jones made the comments during CNN’s State of the Union while reacting to revelations in the forthcoming book Original Sin, co-authored by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson.

The book, scheduled for release in the coming days, details a pattern of silence among top Democrats and White House staffers about Biden’s apparent health issues—despite growing signs of physical deterioration and cognitive lapses in his final year in office.

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“This book is extraordinary. I don’t care who you are, left, right or otherwise. Anybody who cares about this country and about just the dynamics of power, this is ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ playing itself out in real time,” Jones told Tapper.

“Everybody knew, but everyone was afraid to say — except for [former Obama administration official] David Axelrod — for two years, that something was wrong here.”

Jones, who served in the Obama administration, described Biden’s condition during the June 27 debate as shocking.

“I was shocked. I love Joe Biden. I don’t like him, I love him. I got a chance to work with him when I was a part of the Obama administration and loved him more every day,” Jones said.

“I was shocked to see his condition when he came out [for the debate]. And so was the world. And that wasn’t the first time he was in that condition.”

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He added, “The book makes it very very clear, there are people who knew and said nothing. And that is a crime against this republic. And I think the Democrats are going to pay for a long time for being a part of what is now being revealed to be a massive cover-up.”

According to Original Sin, Biden’s physical and cognitive health issues were well known among his inner circle.

CNN reported that some cabinet officials doubted Biden would be dependable in a 2 a.m. emergency scenario by the end of his presidency.

The book also details private conversations in which aides discussed concerns that Biden might require a wheelchair if he served a second term.

🚨Tapper: WH physician told Biden aides he might have to be in a wheelchair if he fell again:

“President Biden’s deterioration of his spine, the degeneration was so significant that if he fell one more time, that he might have to be in a wheelchair and serve in a wheelchair, for… pic.twitter.com/rF7z1GFfEH

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) May 13, 2025

Further reporting based on the book claims that Biden, by late 2022, struggled to remember the names of staff and lawmakers.

Cabinet members also reportedly believed they were being deliberately kept at a distance by Biden’s closest aides, part of an internal effort to limit visibility into his condition.

The New York Post reported that the Tapper-Thompson book cites these incidents as part of a larger attempt to conceal Biden’s decline from party leaders and the general public.

Political analyst Mark Halperin pointed to a series of earlier public missteps as signs of Biden’s worsening condition.

One notable incident occurred in September 2022 when Biden appeared to call out to the late Rep. Jackie Walorski at a public event, apparently forgetting she had passed away in a car accident the month before.

“Jackie, where’s Jackie?,” Joe Biden says about Rep. Jackie Walorski who died in a car accident a few months ago. pic.twitter.com/khdiesmEsx

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 28, 2022

Democrats have struggled to respond to growing questions.

In recent weeks, senators including Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have faced difficulty addressing Biden’s mental acuity.

Many Democrats who are now eyeing the 2028 presidential race are distancing themselves from past comments minimizing Biden’s condition.

Despite those efforts, Kamala Harris—who replaced Biden at the top of the ticket in July—continued to insist that there were no signs of cognitive decline.

Hallie Jackson asked Harris yesterday: “Can you say that you were honest with the American people about what you saw in those moments with President Biden, as you were with him again and again repeatedly in that time?”

Harris: “Of course. Joe Biden is an extremely accomplished,… pic.twitter.com/HMykeLm5MD

— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) October 23, 2024

“There are no indications,” Harris said at the time.

However, polling data from as early as September 2023 suggests the public had already reached a different conclusion.

An ABC News/Washington Post survey conducted that month showed that approximately 75% of voters believed Biden was too old to serve a second term.

Jake Tapper, who co-authored Original Sin, has also faced criticism for his previous coverage.

Critics allege that Tapper’s reporting in the lead-up to the debate was overly favorable to the Biden White House and did not adequately reflect concerns being discussed privately among Democratic insiders.

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