George Stephanopoulos’ coming interview with President Biden is too hot to delay.
ABC News said it will move an interview between the anchor and President Joe Biden to Friday evening, rather than waiting until Sunday morning as previously planned, a sign of the extreme interest in seeing the Commander-in-Chief address issues of physical and mental fitness in the wake of a poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump last week. The interview is the first Biden has granted to a mainstream national news outlet since the debate performance.
Stephanopoulos is expected to talk to President Biden earlier in the day Friday from the campaign trail in Wisconsin. The first clip of the interview will air on Friday’s broadcast of “World News Tonight” as planned, then in a primetime special at 8 p.m. eastern, and, subsequently, Sunday during “This Week,” where it was to have first surfaced in completed form.
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ABC News said a transcript of the unedited interview will be made available the same day.
The interview is seen as a crucial test for President Biden, who is under extreme pressure after appearing listless and even confused during a debate telecast by CNN. Biden on Friday vowed to staffers stay in the race, even though there has been much speculation that Democrats feel he may have to step aside if they are to win Americans’ votes in November.
Biden’s gaffes during the debate have been all Washington can focus on, with Democrats fearful the weakened performance will all but cede victory to Republicans in the coming election — not only for the White House, but crucial House and Senate seats.
Biden, who does not grant many media interviews, has spoken with Stephanopoulos on camera before. The “Good Morning America” and “This Week” co-anchor moderated a town hall with Biden in 2020, after a raucous debate with Trump amid the coronavirus pandemic left both sides at odds.
ABC News’ ability to snare this interview comes as the Disney news division is in transition, without an official Washington bureau chief or a direct ABC News operating exec. Disney veteran Deborah OConnell was put over both ABC News and Disney stations in February, but has yet to install a new chief directly over the news operations.
