Biden forgot names of longtime aides Jake Sullivan, Kate Bedingfield halfway through his term, new book says | 13 May 2025 | Joe Biden forgot the names of lawmakers, foreign dignitaries and even longtime aides as early as halfway into his term, according to a tell-all tome about the oldest-ever president's failed 2024 re-election bid set for release next week. The former vice president had displayed signs of mental slippage earlier during his 2020 campaign for the White House -- but the decline accelerated over the course of his term, journalists Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper write in their new book Original Sin, set to be published May 20. In December 2022, Biden couldn't even recall his former top national security aide and communications director from his vice presidency -- which had ended less than six years before.