In Greek tragedy, the protagonist's effort to avoid his fate is what seals his fate. In 2024, American politics became a Greek tragedy.

Joe Biden launched his 2020 bid for the White House with the stated goal of saving the nation from a second Trump term. He, his family and his senior aides were so convinced that only he could beat Trump again that they lied to themselves, allies and the public about his condition and limitations - all but dooming the Democrats to defeat later that year. Here, two of America's best-respected political journalists take us behind closed doors to reveal the full, unsettling truth about Biden's decline. They expose the wider cover-up as an act of unprecedented public deception, raising fundamental issues of accountability and responsibility that will endure for decades. Biden's decision to run again was the original sin of his presidency - the moment that led directly to Donald Trump's return to power and all that has come since.