President Joe Biden will appear in his first televised interview since his widely criticized debate performance, sitting down with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos.
The interview is set to air on ABC on Friday, July 5, on World News Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET. It will be followed by extended coverage on This Week on Sunday and Good Morning America on Monday.
Biden's first interview can be viewed on ABC News, as well as via the ABC app or on ABC.com, as well as on connected devices (Roku, AppleTV and Amazon Fire TV). ABC will additionally release a transcript on Friday.
It comes in the wake of Biden's CNN debate performance, which raised concerns about his candidacy among Democrats. Held last Thursday against former President Donald Trump, it was marked by moments where the president spoke with a raspy voice and at times stumbled over his answers while appearing to lose his train of thought.
Critics and supporters alike have called for Biden to address these concerns directly, making this interview a significant moment for his campaign. Some prominent Democrats have urged the 81-year-old president to step aside or expressed concerns about his ability to run.
Representatives Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona have openly called for Biden to withdraw from the race. Doggett said, "I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw." Grijalva emphasized the need for Biden to "shoulder the responsibility" of maintaining the seat by stepping aside.
The president is also facing pressure from his donors, integral to funding his campaign. George Conway, an attorney who previously donated $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, the maximum amount permissible, said both Biden and Trump should retire.
Biden has yet to take any questions from reporters on his debate showing. The White House has been keen to shift the narrative, announcing multiple campaign stops in battleground states and an upcoming solo press conference at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C.
While Biden has made several public appearances since Thursday's debate, he has read from prepared remarks at those events.
"We're going to turn the page," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday. "We're going to get out...there across the country. Americans are going to see him for themselves."
With just four months left until the 2024 presidential election, most national polls show Donald Trump slightly ahead of President Joe Biden since the June 27 debate, according to FiveThirtyEight's aggregator.
The pair have generally been polling neck and neck, with typically around a percentage point's difference between them, or less. As of July 3, Trump's average lead was 2.3 percentage points, per the aggregator.
Only one poll since the debate has shown Biden ahead of Trump. But another poll by the same pollster a few days later with a larger sample size showed Trump in the lead.
Update, 7/5/2024 at 8:26 a.m. ET: Additional details were added.
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Jesus is a Newsweek Live News Reporter based in New York. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, his focus is reporting on ... Read more
