Following his dismal debate performance last week, President Joe Biden will host a rally in Wisconsin on Friday before appearing on television for his first interview. What happens at this event could have a significant impact on whether or not Biden’s beleaguered campaign can be saved.
This is probably going to be one of the most important interviews a presidential contender or president has had in a long time with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos. Voters, funders, and Democratic elected officials will be closely observing to see whether he can continue to perform well in a hostile environment and be the party’s nominee to unseat Donald Trump this autumn.
Friday at 8 p.m. ET, the interview would “broadcast as a primetime special in its entirety,” according to ABC, which also stated that the unedited transcript of the conversation will be made available that same day.
Biden is scheduled to appear this afternoon at a Madison, Wisconsin, campaign event before that. A spokesperson from Biden’s campaign stated that the candidate will “emphasize how important this election is for our democracy, our freedoms and liberties, and our economy” at the gathering. Democratic governor Tony Evers and Democratic congressman Mark Pocan of Wisconsin are among the other speakers.
The White House stated that the ABC interview team “will be with us all day in Wisconsin” and that they can watch the president participate in his schedule and cover the rally. They also stated that they have “some flexibility” regarding the length of the sit-down but “no exact estimate” regarding the duration of the conversation.
The main concerns that many Democrats have are whether Biden’s weakness and incoherence during the debate were isolated incidents or if they have become routine for him. Is there any way he can still run a strong campaign and have a chance of beating Trump? If not, would Democrats benefit more from Biden withdrawing so that a substitute, most likely Vice President Kamala Harris, might be nominated at the convention the following month?
“Any appearance he makes before the convention will determine whether or not Democrats support him remaining our nominee,” a Democratic congressman stated, expressing doubts about Biden’s ability to continue in the contest in private. “He must demonstrate his ability to carry out the entire spectrum of tasks necessary for a vibrant, fruitful campaign.”
There’s cause for concern among Democrats. Surveys conducted prior to the debate suggested that Biden was the underdog versus Trump, albeit a little one and concerns about his age and health would follow him throughout the campaign, even from members of his own Democratic party. The results of post-debate polls are inconsistent; while some indicated a statistically significant decline in trial heats against Trump, others showed Biden’s support declining but still falling below the margin of error.
Even as some Democrats urge him to withdraw from the contest, Biden maintains his public defiance. He responded to a guest who roared encouragement at him during a Fourth of July party at the White House by saying, “I’m not going anywhere.”
On Wednesday, he intensified his attempts to calm down uneasy Democrats, holding an all-hands call with campaign staff members pledging to remain in the race, visiting with governors, and speaking to congressional leaders.
An individual from the campaign said that Biden informed staff members, “No one is pushing me out,” during the call. “I’m not going anywhere. I intend to finish this race, and we will prevail.
But in private, sources close to the situation told NBC News that Biden is still vacillating between accepting that he might have to step down and remaining defiant in the face of those requests.
Some Democrats argue that Friday’s interview with Biden will not have as much weight as the polls that will be released in the coming days regarding the race for the White House, both nationally and in battleground states, and whether or not Biden’s candidacy is hurting Democrats’ chances of winning seats in the House and Senate in a fiercely competitive fight for control of both chambers.
It would be a red line, according to a House Democrat from a competitive seat, if Biden’s popularity declines to the point where it appears that Democrats would lose the House if he stays in.
Biden needs to participate in more town halls, interviews, and unscripted events, according to his allies. Since the debate, he has made other speeches at the White House, at fundraisers, and at rallies. Typically, he uses a teleprompter in an organized environment.
In the past week, Biden has acknowledged that his communication skills have declined, but he maintains that he is still capable of carrying out the duties of the presidency and argues that Trump is too dangerous and dishonest to be in office. Biden, who is 81 years old, is only three years older than Trump, 78, whose incoherent remarks, outbursts, and spiral into bitterness during the Atlanta debate eclipsed Biden’s capacity to provide well-reasoned answers.
On social media on Thursday, Trump disparaged Stephanopoulos, labeling him as the “meanest and most vicious Interviewer.” In addition, he demanded that Biden and he have “another Debate,” this time without moderators and “a full-fledged conversation about the future of our nation, just the two of us on stage.”
In 1992, after Gennifer Flowers came forward to confess to having an extramarital affair with Bill Clinton for twelve years, Hillary and Bill Clinton sat down for an interview to demonstrate support. Biden’s appearance on ABC may be the most significant interview for a presidential contender since then.
The guy who set up the interview?
Stephanopoulos, the campaign’s director of communications at the time.