Following his widely-panned debate performance, Joe Biden is set to have his first post-debate interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the interview is set to take place on Friday while Biden is on the campaign trail. The airing of the interview will be staggered, airing in parts across several different programs; the first look is set to air on Friday, July 5th, during World News Tonight. Additional segments will air over the weekend on Good Morning America. The remainder of the interview will be aired on the Sunday broadcast of This Week with George Stephanopoulos, and the Monday edition of Good Morning America.
The interview comes amidst widespread calls from media commentators, and even Democratic officials, for Biden to withdraw from the race after his disastrous performance in the debate against former President Donald Trump on Thursday. Widely described as the worst performance in the history of televised presidential debates, Biden repeatedly stammered, paused awkwardly, and gave incoherent and rambling answers to questions. Polls since the debate have universally shown that more voters than ever before are convinced that Biden is too old and cognitively challenged to continue serving as president, much less run for another term.
On Tuesday, Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) became the first elected Democrat to formally call on Biden to drop out of the race. Congressman Jared Golden (D-Maine) openly declared his belief that Biden will lose the November election to President Trump.
The ABC interview is widely expected to be a softball interview, as Stephanopoulos previously worked on the 1992 campaign of Bill Clinton, and then as a senior adviser during Clinton’s presidency.
ABC News is also currently scheduled to host the second and final debate between President Trump and Biden, which is set for September 10th; the moderators will be David Muir and Linsey Davis. It is not yet known if President Trump or Biden will agree to the second debate, and there is also speculation that independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could qualify for the September debate by meeting the polling and electoral vote thresholds that he failed to make ahead of the first debate.