The White House is in a rush to have President Joe Biden make public appearances on an accelerated schedule over the July 4th weekend following increased pressure from his own party for him to resign following his poor debate performance.
Biden’s advisors had initially arranged for a pre-recorded interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an attempt to mitigate the demands from politicians and financiers to prove that he is still capable of campaigning.
However, following an unsuccessful meeting with governors on Wednesday that did not put an end to the calls for his removal from the Democratic ticket, ABC quickly announced that the entire interview, originally planned to be shown in parts on Saturday and Sunday mornings, would now be broadcast in its entirety on Friday evening.
The prime time 8 pm broadcast will give Americans their first extensive look at the president in a Q&A format – albeit not live – since Biden trailed off, rattled off odd phrases, and appeared to lose his train of thought repeatedly during Thursday’s debate with Donald Trump.
‘The down-ballot freak-out from elected Democrats has not ebbed, and the negative media coverage and information flow about Biden’s debate debacle has only intensified,’ former Mitt Romney senior advisor Kevin Madden told DailyMail.com.
‘As a result, the White House is motivated more by necessity than design to schedule a major interview. There’s an urgency to get the President out there so he can address the blowback directly.’
But the move follows days of lost time when senior members of his own party raised doubts about his candidacy and three elected Democrats have called on him to step back.
‘Friday is still a tardy response, given that this controversy will have been spiraling for over a week, but waiting until Sunday would have been too late,’ said Madden.
The network will air portions of the interview on ‘World News Tonight’ Friday with David Muir during the 6 pm hour of ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir, then air the entire interview at 8 pm in a special broadcast.
It will run again on Sunday during ABC’s ‘This Week’ – putting the president before millions of viewers while polls are registering growing concern among voters about his fitness for another term.
The network said it will also release a full transcript of the interview, allowing the public to scrutinize Biden’s answers even as critics from within his own party and Republicans will be looking for visual cues on whether the president, 81, remains fit for political battle.
Biden will be putting himself in the public eye throughout the weekend, after Democratic governors said he had just days to prove he is still viable after polls showed him slipping after the debate.
The president hosts military vets at the White House for traditional 4th of July celebrations. This time Vice President Kamala Harris will be there as well, as party insiders debate whether she would be a stronger nominee than Biden – amid indications the party could more easily transfer its huge campaign war chest to her than to swing state governors waiting in the wings.
Biden is also returning to battleground Wisconsin, a state he won in 2020 but where shows show him trailing Trump. He will hold a campaign event in Madison, not far from where the Republicans will gather within days to hold their party convention.
The burst of public activity comes amid pressure for Biden to put himself in front of the public more, with allies saying he has just days to prove himself.
‘He’s got to show the American people that he can do this job,’ Rep. Debbie Dingell told MSNBC. ‘He can’t be wrapped in bubble right now.’
Referencing his train wreck debate, an ally told the New York Times, ‘He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place.’ The White House denied the report saying Biden had just days to prove he was up to the challenge, and knows that his weekend appearances must go well.
CNN reported a Capitol Hill source holding up the ABC appearance as all important, saying, ‘Let’s see how this interview goes, let’s see how he does on the campaign trail in Wisconsin,’ and they’re using the next few days to kind of make up their mind.’
A new DailyMail poll reveals a whopping seven out of 10 likely voters said that the president should take a cognitive test after his disaster Atlanta presidential debate against Trump.
Biden’s burst of activity has him partying at the White House Thursday, campaigning in swing state Wisconsin Friday, and holding a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Biden is facing increasing pressure to demonstrate his acuity anew before a live audience.
‘He needs to be out without a script. Without a teleprompter and just face the press, face the public. That’s critical,’ former California Sen. Barbara Boxer told the LA Times.
Added Democratic former Michael Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis, an expert in crisis communications: ‘Biden needs to hold one or more press conferences, with no holds barred, and for at least 45 minutes, to prove he can take the tough questions and respond with force, with conviction, and with persuasion.
‘And then he needs to do town halls live on TV and allow voters to put him through the same questions and answers.’