George Stephanopoulos was threatened with being taken off the air if he did not clarify his position on Joe Biden’s ability to serve another four years.
The ABC anchor gave his frank assessment of the president’s performance in a brief interview when he was ambushed Tuesday.
The former Bill Clinton aide was asked on the street in Manhattan if Biden should resign and replied: “I don’t think he can serve four more years.”
Biden’s interview with the former White House press secretary on Friday followed a disastrous performance in the June 27 debate.
ABC News star anchor George Stephanopoulos has apologized after giving his blunt assessment of Joe Biden’s performance in his blockbuster interview on Friday.
Biden’s television interview with the former White House press secretary on Friday followed a disastrous performance in last month’s debate.
Stephanopoulos, 63, appeared to quickly regret his off-the-cuff comment and offered a statement of regret.
“Just today I answered a question from a passerby. I shouldn’t have done that,” he said.
ABC News issued its own statement, saying: “George expressed his own view and not the position of ABC News.”
What the two statements did not reveal was the crisis that Stephanopoulos’s nine words unleashed at the highest levels of the main network.
News division president Debra O’Connell called a panicked meeting Tuesday night with advisers and executives, including public relations consultants.
“It was a full-blown crisis and it exploded with far-reaching repercussions,” said a source close to the matter. Online radar.
He then brought Stephanopoulos into a private meeting where he gave him an ultimatum: apologize or get off the air.
Stephanopoulos hosts Good Morning America and moderates the current affairs program This Week.
ABC officials were concerned that the veteran broadcaster had expressed a private opinion that would fatally undermine his appearance of objectivity.
“(O’Connell told him) in no uncertain terms that he is a journalist who is expected to be objective,” the source said.
Stephanopoulos, 63, appeared to quickly regret his off-the-cuff comment and offered a statement of regret, but was apparently forced to do so.
News division president Debra O’Connell called a panicked meeting with advisers and executives Tuesday night, including public relations consultants.
‘I was furious that someone of George’s experience and status was compromising the impartiality of the news division and subjecting it to unnecessary and embarrassing headlines.
‘George backed Debra into a corner. If she didn’t apologize, how could she continue her duties at ABC News without the network facing an avalanche of criticism?’
However, the source believes that although Stephanopoulos retracted his comment and “played it down as a joke,” ABC bosses knew the damage had already been done.
“Hopefully the Trump campaign and the Republican Party will seize on this. Hopefully the White House will also avoid continuing with ABC News. Biden will never sit down with Stephanopoulos again,” they said.
Biden’s cognitive function has been under intense scrutiny since his car-crashed presidential debate with Donald Trump last month.
On Friday, he attempted damage control with a one-on-one interview with ABC, a performance that was once again criticized by members of his own party.
Biden made it through the 22-minute ABC News interview on Friday without any major gaffes, but he appeared unlikely to fully allay concerns about his age and fitness for another four years and his ability to defeat Donald Trump in November.
Biden got through the 22-minute ABC News interview on Friday without making any major mistakes.
But it seemed unlikely to completely allay concerns about his age or his ability to defeat Trump on Nov. 5.
The instability has prompted calls for Biden to drop out of the race, but he has so far remained steadfast in his commitment to run.
Looking ahead, a senior Democratic aide said: ABC News that the president should “prepare for a wild week.”
Many had hoped Friday’s interview with Stephanopoulos would be a chance for Biden, 81, to show that the debate was something unique.
But his performance, which included answering questions in a hoarse voice, losing his thread mid-sentence and rambling on, left many Democrats unconvinced.
The president has remained steadfast in his stance to remain in the race since the interview.
Some prominent Democrats are desperately searching for possible alternatives if Biden drops out of the race.