Biden Will Sit for Interview on Friday With ABC News
President Biden will sit for an interview on Friday with the ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, his first in-depth appearance with a journalist since his shaky debate performance last week raised alarms among Democrats about his continued viability as a candidate.
Mr. Stephanopoulos, who has interviewed Mr. Biden before, is expected to tape the interview on Friday, when the president will be traveling on the campaign trail. The network said it would broadcast portions of the interview on its evening newscast.
Advisers to Mr. Biden have come under considerable pressure from Democrats and other major supporters to make the president available to answer questions, in an unscripted environment, about his performance at the debate. Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, said on Tuesday that Mr. Biden ought to speak with journalists, and Mika Brzezinski, the MSNBC host who is a stalwart Biden ally, has urged the same.
In the days after the debate, where Mr. Biden struggled to complete sentences and often appeared dazed onstage, he has spoken at rallies and private fund-raising events using a teleprompter. On Monday, he addressed reporters at the White House about the recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, but he departed without answering inquiries about his health and the future of his candidacy.
Mr. Stephanopoulos is a veteran interviewer who conducts many of ABC’s interviews with major political figures. He also served as a top adviser in Bill Clinton’s White House.