ABC News is overhauling its plans with its highly-anticipated Biden interview, announcing that it will be airing in a primetime special Friday night.
The interview, being conducted by anchor George Stephanopoulos, will now be airing at 8 p.m. ET and vowed that “a transcript of the unedited interview will be made available the same day.”
According to a press release, the first clip will air on Friday’s “World News Tonight” and the full interview will be aired again on Sunday’s installment of “This Week.”
ABC News was previously mum to a series of questions sent by Fox News Digital, including if the Disney-owned network commits to airing any moments that could shed new light on Biden’s mental fitness.
Concerns about Biden’s age and viability have been at the forefront since last week’s alarming debate in which he repeatedly lost his train of thought mid-sentence, struggled to answer questions, and was widely criticized for sounding frail. While the White House called it a “bad night,” a growing number of Democrats, newspapers and media pundits have called for him to step aside from the 2024 campaign.
The interview with Stephanopoulos is seen as a chance for Biden to show his viability, but the taped format has sparked questions.
It is unclear how much time has been allotted for the interview. The length and Biden’s ability to look and sound alert and engaged may be as significant as his actual answers as he tries to rescue his campaign and assure jittery Democrats.
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While the spotlight will largely remain on Biden, questions surrounding how ABC News will handle the interview are further fueled by its past political coverage.
In 2018, ABC News was heavily criticized for a massive editing job when former FBI Director James Comey sat down with Stephanopoulos for his first interview since he was abruptly fired by then-President Trump the previous year. The full transcript released by the network revealed it chose not to air several key moments during its Sunday night special, such as when Comey ripped former President Obama.
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“Not only is the choice of George Stephanopoulos as the interviewer by design, but it being taped and capable of being chopped up and edited by design. ABC can and should release a full transcript of the interview, but that means nothing if we’re not able to see the full, raw, unedited video ourselves,” NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck told Fox News Digital.
“This could be Robert Hur 2.0 if the transcript has a moment not shown on camera where Biden fumbles and stumbles,” he continued. “If this were a Republican presidency in crisis like this, ABC would be bullied into doing it live, but the other networks will certainly employ a trust but not verify strategy with one of their own.”
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Biden’s shocking debate performance has become a political earthquake with wide swaths of the liberal media calling for him to withdraw from the presidential race.
Both Biden and the White House have repeatedly insisted he is staying in the contest. The White House also denied reports Wednesday that Biden told a key ally he was considering stepping aside.
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