CNN host Jake Tapper has coupled his book tour for his new Joe Biden exposé, "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," with an effort at image rehabilitation. Who would have thought?! Tapper hired public relations guru Risa Heller, a supposed crisis communications expert ahead of his book tour with co-author and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, which begs the question, "In what crisis does Tapper find himself?" It seems Heller was tasked with softening Tapper's edges and making him appear more amenable to critics.

Good luck with that. 

Jake Tapper hired a crisis PR group that repped Elizabeth Holmes, Jeffrey Toobin, and Anthony Weiner to teach him how to be 'nicer' to critics. -- Free Beacon

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) May 15, 2025

Breaker reported earlier this month that Tapper has hired Risa Heller, a crisis communication expert described as the "warrior of choice" for "cancellable elites" trying to survive a scandal. In 2022, Heller met with former CNN boss Jeff Zucker days before he was forced to resign for, among other things, concealing a romantic relationship with a subordinate executive. She helped Anthony Weiner navigate his (first) dick-pic scandal in 2011. Jeffrey Toobin, the disgraced CNN personality, sought Heller's counsel in 2020 after he was caught pleasuring himself on a Zoom call with colleagues. She worked with convicted Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes on a sympathetic puff piece in the New York Times ahead of her sentencing. She represented an Estée Lauder executive who posted a Sesame Street meme using the n-word, and defended the voice of Elmo against allegations of sexual impropriety with minors. Now she's helping Tapper learn how to be "nicer" to fellow journalists.

Quite a laundry list of folks whose reputation needed help, although I am not sure what good Risa Heller did for any of them aside from divesting them of their money. Zucker was forced out at CNN in spectacular fashion; Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes went to jail and many are trying to hide the key; and Anthony Weiner who? Exactly.

Then there is Jeffrey Toobin, who probably should be in jail for his numerous sexual peccadillos, but instead will never do anything outside of CNN because he is not only a disreputable hack, but extremely damaged goods. So, Toobin gets to live in his own personal purgatory because there's no coming back from those messes. 

According to the Washington Free Beacon story linked above, Tapper is "a notorious crank with a habit of sending indignant DMs to journalists and other commentators who criticize him on social media."

Shocker.

Heller is a crisis communications expert, not a lobotomist. But, whatever strategies she is employing to help Tapper may be working. Tapper admitted on Tuesday that he didn't cover the issue of Biden's cognitive decline sufficiently and that he looks back on that time with "humility."

Jake Tapper now says he didn't cover Biden's cognitive issues enough, and claims to "look back on it with humility."

In other words, Jake knew for four years Biden was cognitively impaired, but now sees dollar signs and needs to pretend he didn’t. pic.twitter.com/EKVTSYokjU

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) May 14, 2025

Note he does this with another journalist from his own network, but that's beside the point. Tapper is learning he made mistakes and this gives him pause and reflection.

Right.

Tapper also uncharacteristically praised Thompson as a "great reporter and a kind person and a good friend." 

Jake Tapper wrote a book about the coverup of Biden's decline, as if he played no role in it at all. It's quite amazing.

Tapper smeared and attacked people who brought up Biden's decline, including Democrats.pic.twitter.com/JR7IurXkgz

— MAZE (@mazemoore) May 13, 2025

It is doubtful anything will keep this turd of a tome from sinking. Both the Left and the Right are writing takedowns and flaming Tapper's excerpts from the book which is scheduled to be released on March 20. As RedState covered on Wednesday, average Joes and Janes are piling on with scathing comments on Tapper's promotional posts on social media shilling for the book. Which shows that just because you put lipstick on a pig, doesn't mean it's not still a pig. 

Jake Tapper keeps tweeting/retweeting posts about his new book, and they all get ratioed. Literally every single one.

This book is a monument to the establishment media's utter lack of self-awareness and shame. pic.twitter.com/yNaR4sgYHd

— pragmatometer (@pragmatometer) May 15, 2025

Since the people who Risa Heller "helped" were either unceremoniously shown the door or put in jail, I would keep an eye on his CNN show, and take bets on where Tapper might land once this book tour suffers its unceremonious, and hopefully quick, end.

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