The White House is moving frantically to get President Joe Biden in front of cameras and crowds on an accelerated schedule this July Fourth weekend after growing calls within his party for him to resign following his debate disaster.
Biden’s advisers had already prepared a taped interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos to try to fend off calls from lawmakers and donors to show he’s still up to the task of campaigning.
But after a meeting with the nation’s governors on Wednesday failed to quell growing calls for his ouster from the Democratic nomination, ABC announced hours later that the full interview, which had been scheduled to air in parts on Saturday and Sunday mornings, would now air in one take on Friday night.
The 8 p.m. prime-time broadcast will give Americans their first extended look at the president in a question-and-answer format — though not live — since Biden became speechless, repeated odd phrases and appeared to lose his train of thought repeatedly during Thursday’s debate with Donald Trump.
President Joe Biden’s interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos will now air Friday amid pressure from his supporters to show he can still campaign effectively after last week’s debate.
“Panic among elected Democrats over the election has not abated, and the negative media coverage and flow of information about Biden’s debate debacle has only intensified,” former Mitt Romney senior adviser Kevin Madden told DailyMail.com.
“As a result, the White House is motivated more by necessity than design when scheduling a major interview. There is an urgency to get the president out so he can address the backlash directly.”
But the move comes after days of wasted time as senior members of his own party raised doubts about his candidacy and three elected Democrats called on him to step back.
“Friday is still a late response, given that this controversy will have been brewing for more than a week, but waiting until Sunday would have been too late,” Madden said.
The network will air portions of the interview on Friday’s ‘World News Tonight’ with David Muir during the 6 p.m. slot. from ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir, We will then broadcast the full interview at 8pm in a special broadcast.
It will air again Sunday during ABC’s “This Week,” putting the president before millions of viewers as polls show growing concern among voters about his suitability for another term.
The network said it will also release a full transcript of the interview, allowing the public to parse Biden’s responses even as critics within his own party and Republicans will look for visual clues about whether the 81-year-old president remains fit for political battle.
Biden will be putting himself out there all weekend after Democratic governors said he had just days to prove he was still viable after polls showed him slipping following the debate.
The president is hosting military veterans at the White House for traditional Fourth of July celebrations. This time, Vice President Kamala Harris will also be there, as party members debate whether she would be a stronger candidate than Biden amid signs the party could more easily transfer its massive campaign fund to her than to swing-state governors waiting in the wings.
‘This Week’ host George Stephanopoulos will sit down with the president for an interview that will air on Friday and Sunday.
President Joe Biden saw his lead grow nationally and in key states after the debate
Biden is also returning to Wisconsin, a swing state he won in 2020 but where the campaign trails Trump. He will hold a campaign rally in Madison, not far from where Republicans will gather in a few days for their party convention.
The burst of public activity comes amid pressure for Biden to do more public exposure, with allies saying he has just days to prove himself.
“He has to prove to the American people that he can do this job,” Rep. Debbie Dingell told MSNBC. “He can’t stay in a bubble right now.”
Referring to their discussion of the train disaster, one ally told the New York Times: “He knows that if there are two more events like that, we’ll be in a different situation.” The White House denied the claim. report saying Biden only had a few days to prove he was up to the challenge and knows his weekend appearances must go well.
CNN reported that a Capitol Hill source felt the ABC appearance was very important and said, ‘Let’s see how this interview goes, let’s see how he does on the campaign trail in Wisconsin,’ and they are using the next few days to make a decision.
A new DailyMail poll reveals that seven in 10 likely voters said the president should take a cognitive test after his disastrous Atlanta presidential debate against Trump.
Biden’s burst of activity includes partying at the White House on Thursday, campaigning in the key state of Wisconsin on Friday and holding a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Biden is facing increasing pressure to once again demonstrate his wit before a live audience.
“He has to come out without a script, without a teleprompter and just face the press, the public. That’s critical,” former California Sen. Barbara Boxer told the LA Times.
Lanny Davis, a former Democratic lawyer for Michael Cohen and an expert in crisis communications, added: “Biden needs to hold one or more press conferences, without restrictions, and for at least 45 minutes, to show that he can respond with force, with conviction and with persuasion.
“And then he needs to do live TV town hall meetings and let voters ask him the same questions and answers.”
