Biden set for a high-stakes TV interview as he seeks to recover from first debate

NBC - AOL ^ | July 5th, 2024 | Sahil Kapur and Gabe Gutierrez and Tara Prindiville and Kelly O'Donnell

[shadowlands1960]

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will sit Friday for his first televised interview since his disastrous debate performance last week, one that could be crucial in determining whether he can salvage his embattled candidacy.

The interview with anchor George Stephanopoulos of ABC News is shaping up to be one of the most high-stakes moments for a president or a candidate in many years. Democratic elected officials, donors and voters will be closely watching to see whether he can still deliver in an adversarial setting and turn in a performance worthy of being the party’s nominee to defeat Donald Trump this fall.

The interview will “air in its entirety as a primetime special” at 8 p.m. ET Friday, ABC said, adding that a “transcript of the unedited interview will be made available the same day.”

The White House said it has “some flexibility” around the length of the sit-down but “no exact estimate” of the duration of the conversation.

Earlier in the day, Biden is expected to speak at a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin. The White House said the interview team from ABC “will be with us all day in Wisconsin” and able to cover the rally event and to observe the president as he participates in his schedule.

The big questions on many Democrats’ minds are: Were the frailty and incoherence he exhibited at the debate anomalies, or have they become common occurrences for Biden? Can he still mount a vigorous campaign with a reasonable chance of defeating Trump? And if not, would Democrats be better off if Biden stepped aside for a replacement candidate — most likely Vice President Kamala Harris — to be nominated at next month’s convention?

[aklurker]

Here is my take on the media’s handling of the debate. They all knew Biden was slipping, and dependent on the teleprompter, and pre-submitted questions that they could put BiDone’s answers on the teleprompter. The Obama white house was exactly the same in terms of pre-scripted and dependence on teleprompter for the most part. Anyhow, there were already lots of rumbling weeks before the debate about an exodus from the democrat party. The debate came, and we were all expecting CNN to bend over backwards using production magic, biased moderators, and a slight broadcast delay, to make Trump look bad, and to make BiDone look presidential. Then, although CNN did some small things to help BiDone, they actually had a fair and honest debate. For 90 minutes they all saw the real BiDone sans teleprompter. Either on queue or due to what they had just seen, the media panicked and let slip that BiDone needed to be replaced. Now days have passed and the BiDone faction have circled the wagons, and are still trying to stem the tide of people moving to the “We have to replace him side”. The smarter Democrats know that BiDone is DONE, and he is just going to get worse as the campaign progresses. It’s not the same as 2020, since he is having a lot more difficulty reading the teleprompter, and the debate performance cannot be unseen. The smarter Democrats know they have to get rid of BiDone asap.

[cableguymn]

it’s recorded. probably right after nap time.

[tinamina]

Being taped at noon?

[fuzzylogic]

My guess is the donors will dry up, forcing him out. Probably happening as we speak.