CNN host Jake Tapper has come to former President Joe Biden's defense in the past and once lashed out at Lara Trump when she questioned the then-candidate's mental competence back in 2020.

However, Biden's former ally has turned on him by writing a book which now reveals that there was a concerted effort to hide his mental deterioration. 

Tapper comes clean

According to Fox News, Tapper made that admission in Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, which he co-wrote with fellow journalist Alex Thompson.

As Tapper and Thompson explained, much of the responsibility for propping up Biden's image fell to Andrew Bates, who served as deputy White House press secretary.

"Some of Bates’s colleagues believed that Biden’s inner circle took advantage of his loyalty and told him to deny things they knew were true," the pair wrote.

"He, along with most of the press team, rarely met with the president and didn’t have firsthand knowledge of the president’s wherewithal," they continued.

Bates' takes the heat

"They relied on senior staff for answers," Tapper and Thompson pointed out. "Still, risking his own credibility, Bates willingly became the White House’s tip of the spear when it came to fighting off any reporting on Biden’s acuity."

The journalists recalled how Bates' attempts at bolstering Biden's image grew increasingly desperate following his disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump.

To answer the question on everyone’s minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs.

He’s just that fucking good.

— Andrew Bates Archived (@AndrewJBates46) July 12, 2024

"To answer the question on everyone’s minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs. He's just that f--king good," Bates wrote in a social media post two weeks after the debate.

Tapper offers mea culpa

For his part, Tapper conceded during an interview earlier this week with podcast host Megyn Kelly that he had been wrong to disparage Lara Trump and her characterization of Biden's status.

"I’ve already apologized to her. I called her months ago," Tapper told Kelly after acknowledging that Mrs. Trump was right to question Biden's fitness for office.

The television news personality went on to point out that Lara Trump's "comments have aged well" whereas his own remarks about the former president "have aged poorly."

Tapper's interview came just days after an audio recording of then-special counsel Robert Hur's 2023 interview with the then-president was released, on in which Biden could be heard giving rambling answers and mixing up important events and key dates in his life.