by Jake Tapper
First published 2025
President Joe Biden sits in the Oval Office, convinced that only he can prevent Donald Trump's return to power. Despite mounting evidence of his cognitive decline, Biden decides to run for reelection in 2024. His family and senior aides rally around this decision, concealing the president's limitations from allies and the public. The deception unravels during the June 27, 2024 debate with Trump, exposing Biden's condition to millions of viewers. Tapper and Thompson reveal the private conversations and closed door meetings where top officials, congressional leaders, governors, and donors grappled with what they witnessed. The authors show how Biden's inner circle maintained the facade while the president's abilities deteriorated. From White House staffers to Hollywood figures, people knew the truth but stayed silent. Biden's choice to break his implicit promise of serving one term becomes the catalyst for a campaign built on denial. The decision that was meant to save democracy instead hands Trump victory and returns him to the White House. This political tragedy explores how good intentions and self deception led to the very outcome Biden sought to prevent.
Genres: american-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century, political-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: political-intrigue, unreliable-narrator
Setting: White House, Oval Office
Period: 2024
352 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press
Content warnings: mental-illness