Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson admitted during the White House Correspondents Dinner that he and his colleagues “bear some responsibility” for the cover-up of former President Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline.

Thompson is the co-author of “Original Sin” along with CNN’s Jake Tapper. That book details Biden’s “decline, its cover-up and his disastrous choice to run again.”

During an address to the audience on Saturday, Thompson admitted those present in the room are partly to blame for Biden’s decision to exit the 2024 presidential election.

“President Biden’s decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of party, is capable of deception,” he said. “Being truthtellers also means telling the truth about ourselves. We, myself included, missed a lot of this story.”

“We bear some responsibility for faith in the media being at such lows,” he added, sparking applause from the audience. Thompson received the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage at the dinner.

The remark comes as Biden joined several other world leaders, including President Donald Trump, at the funeral of Pope Francis Saturday. The 82-year-old required the assistance of his wife Jill Biden and a clergy member to walk down a flight of stairs at the event, according to images circulating social media. Some expressed concern over Biden’s apparent difficulty navigating the steps, during which he held the priest’s arm.

Thompson acknowledged the public’s trust in the media has eroded over the Biden coverage.

“Some people trust us less because of it,” Thompson said during his speech. “I say this because acknowledging errors builds trust and being defensive about them further erodes it.”

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