Former White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove argued that left-wing political bias “largely” played a role in the lack of coverage on former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, citing how “hundreds” of people have since come forward about their concern following the 2024 election.

Rove offered specific criticism towards CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson, the authors of the recently released book Original Sin that delves into the cover-up of Biden’s decline. Rove said he was “taken aback” by an interview the two performed in Chicago, in which the pair said that some reporters got “caught up in thinking about the externalities and the consequences” of covering this story. 

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“In other words, they were defending Joe Biden, knowing that he was in mental decline, but were afraid of what would happen to the Biden presidency and the Democratic Party’s chances of holding onto the White House in the face of another Trump campaign,” Rove explained on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom. “This is not what journalists should be thinking about, and it is clear that the mindset of most journalists are center-left or further left, but as journalists they have a responsibility for following the facts wherever they take them. And on this instance, they turned a blind eye.”

Rove agreed with the assessment that political bias “largely” contributed to why reporters did not pursue this, saying there were several “instances” of people expressing concern over the former president’s behavior at fundraisers. He added that the journalists speaking up are well behind the general public, citing how people were aware of Biden’s decline despite the media conspiring “the externalities and the consequences” of reporting this.

Both Tapper and Thompson have been sought for congressional testimony by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) for a hearing next week, which he is aiming to hold through the Senate Judiciary Committee with fellow panel member Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO). Cornyn said this hearing is a “work in progress,” and that both reporters were “otherwise occupied.”

BIDEN AUTOPEN USE IN DC WAS MORE WIDESPREAD THAN PREVIOUSLY KNOWN

Republicans are pressing hard into the story over Biden’s cover-up, with one angle getting major attention is the former president’s use of the autopen. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has predicted that investigations could be made into Biden’s sweeping pardons at the end of his presidency, as well as whether or not Biden directed a subordinate to sign laws using the autopen.

Last week, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent letters to five former aides to Biden for transcribed interviews in front of his committee. Comer is seeking answers on the former president’s cognitive state while in office and “who was calling the shots” in the last administration.