“Original Sin,” the new controversial book that exposed the alleged cover-up on the true mental condition of former President Joe Biden, did not perform as expected in terms of sales, and analyst Stephen A. Smith has his honest take about what happened.
In his recent guesting at the PBD Podcast, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith gave his honest insight on what could have been the reason behind the decline of the book “Original Sin” in sales, despite the controversial topic that it tackled.
“First of all, it started with MSNBC, let’s call it what it is,” Smith said. “Once Trump won the election, a message was sent. We heard everything that y’all had to say. We weren’t buying it. But when you saw the reversal, we’re like, see, nobody’s hearing it. Feed into what you were saying about what we’re not buying. And then, unlike the typical others out there, you are the news networks.”
“Folks were relying upon you to deliver the goods. And when you come out with a book in the aftermath of the election saying that you interviewed nearly 200 people, almost all of them Democrats, and you talked about what you discovered, the reality is is that the people that have turned against the network, the people that have turned against the news, the people that have turned against him, if that is indeed the case, it’s easy to surmise that what they’re saying is there’s no way in hell we believe that you just found that out after the election.”
“We believe you knew it before the election and you didn’t tell us,” he added. “Now, that’s not me saying it. It’s not you saying it. It’s folks that were watching the viewer, the viewers who were watching you. Because what other explanation can there possibly be?”
Book Exposing Joe Biden Cover-Up Flops in Sales
Former President Joe Biden has faced renewed scrutiny following the release of “Original Sin,” a book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson that details Biden’s cognitive decline and the alleged cover-up surrounding his decision to run for reelection.
While the book initially debuted at the top of The New York Times bestseller list, its impact has been overshadowed by declining ratings for Tapper’s CNN show, “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” which posted its worst viewership numbers since August 2015.
Despite selling 54,000 copies in its first week, “Original Sin” has struggled to maintain momentum, ranking sixth on Amazon’s bestseller list. The book’s claims—particularly those about Biden’s physical deterioration and the alleged efforts by his aides to conceal his condition—have sparked debate among political analysts and media figures.
Some critics argue that the book’s reliance on anonymous sources weakens its credibility, while others believe it provides a damning account of Biden’s presidency. Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s team has dismissed the book as an attempt to profit from sensationalized narratives, with his granddaughter Naomi Biden calling it “uninspired lies” written by journalists seeking attention.
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