ABC News moves Biden interview to Friday Primetime

George Stephanopoulos’ upcoming interview with President Biden is too exciting to postpone.

ABC News said it will move an interview between the host 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 tackle 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 appearance.

Stephanopoulos is expected to speak to President Biden from the campaign trail in Wisconsin earlier in the day Friday. The first clip of the interview will air as scheduled during Friday’s broadcast of “World News Tonight,” then in a primetime special at 8 p.m. Eastern, and then on Sunday during “This Week,” where it would have first surfaced on completed videos. form.

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 CNN debate broadcast. Biden pledged Friday that his staffers would stay in the race, even as there has been much speculation that Democrats feel he may have to step aside if they want to win American votes in November.

Biden’s debate blunders are all Washington can focus on, with Democrats fearing the weakened performance will all but cede victory to Republicans in the coming elections — not just for the White House, but also for crucial seats in the House and Senate.

Biden, who does not give many media interviews, has previously spoken to Stephanopoulos on camera. The “Good Morning America” and “This Week” co-anchors co-moderated a town hall with Biden in 2020 after a raucous debate with Trump during the coronavirus pandemic left both sides at odds.

ABC News’ ability to pull this interview comes as Disney’s news department is in transition, without an official Washington bureau chief or a direct executive director of ABC News. Disney veteran Deborah OConnell was appointed over both ABC News and Disney stations in February, but has yet to appoint a new chief to directly lead the news operations.