Bill Clinton says he never saw signs of Joe Biden slipping. In a new interview with CBS Sunday Morning, the former president pushed back on claims in Jake Tapper’s book Original Sin. The book details how Biden’s team allegedly hid his cognitive and physical decline.
Clinton was asked directly if he ever thought Biden was unfit for office. “No,” he replied. “I thought he was a good president.” Clinton said they had multiple long talks and Biden was always sharp.
“The only concern I thought he had to deal with was, could anybody do that job until they were 86?” Clinton added. He said Biden was always on top of his briefing materials. “I never walked away thinking, ‘He can’t do this anymore,’” Clinton insisted.
Biden launched a re-election campaign but dropped out after a disastrous debate performance. His stumble against Donald Trump raised alarms within the Democratic Party. Trump later defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
Clinton doubled down when pressed again. “I didn’t know anything about any of this,” he said. “I haven’t read the book.” He added that he saw Biden recently and thought he looked fine.
The former president said he had no plans to read Tapper’s book. “He’s not president anymore, and I think he did a good job,” Clinton said. “Some people are using this to blame him for Trump’s re-election.”
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are demanding answers. House Oversight Chair James Comer wants testimony from Biden’s doctor and top aides. They’re investigating whether Biden’s condition was deliberately hidden.
It recently came to light that Biden is battling an aggressive form of prostate cancer. That announcement is also being questioned. The timing has raised new concerns about transparency.
Biden, for his part, is firing back. When asked about his health, he shot back sarcastically. “You can see that I’m mentally incompetent and I can’t walk, and I can beat the hell out of both of them,” he said—referring to Tapper and Thompson.