The acknowledgement from the Biden campaign comes as it has been criticized for tightly controlling its public events to minimize potential gaffes during unscripted appearances.
During a 90-minute debate on June 27, the 81-year-old Democrat appeared tired and confused, and at times gave rambling answers. His presumptive Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, 78, unleashed a barrage of falsehoods during the debate, which was hosted by CNN. The parties had agreed in advance not to have their moderators fact-check in real time.
In his three campaigns since 2016, Trump has made inaccurate statements on a wide range of issues. Yet Biden’s debate performance became particularly high-profile this week, after several Democrats, liberal media voices and donors called on him to drop out of the race or risk losing not only the White House but also control of both houses of Congress.
In a coordinated response, the White House press secretary announced Wednesday that Biden had taped two radio interviews that would air the following morning: one with Earl Ingram, whose show is syndicated throughout Wisconsin, and another with Andrea Lawful-Sanders on WURD’s “The Source” in Philadelphia.
The two radio hosts appeared on CNN Saturday, where host Victor Blackwell said the interview questions were eerily similar. “Were these questions asked of you by the White House or the campaign, or did you have to submit questions in advance of this interview?” Blackwell asked Lawful-Sanders.
“The questions were sent to me for approval. I approved them,” she said.
Seeking confirmation, Blackwell followed up by asking, “So the White House sent you the questions before the interview?” Lawful-Sanders responded, “Yes. I received several questions, eight of them. And the four that were chosen were the ones that I approved.” Campaign aides said they sent the proposed questions, not White House officials.
Trump’s campaign has taken similar measures. Last month, it abruptly canceled an interview with a local reporter in Virginia after he asked what questions he planned to ask, 13News Now reported.
During the CNN interview, Lawful-Sanders said her audience was primarily focused on the policy differences between Biden and Trump.
Ingram was not asked about the questions he asked Biden, but the radio host later told ABC News, “Yes, I was asked questions for Biden.” Ingram said he was asked five questions and asked Biden four, according to the outlet. “I didn’t get a chance to ask him all the questions I wanted to ask him,” he said. An email sent to Ingram Saturday afternoon was not immediately answered.
Hitt, the campaign spokeswoman, said in the statement that the questions “were relevant to the news of the day — the president was asked about his performance in the debate as well as his contributions to Black Americans. We do not condition interviews on accepting these questions, and hosts are always free to ask the questions they believe will best inform their listeners.”
She also said Biden took various questions from the media after returning from Wisconsin, as well as the George Stephanopoulos interview that aired on ABC. “Americans have had several opportunities to see him unscripted since the debate,” Hitt said.
Later Saturday, Lawful-Sanders sent a statement defending her interview and explaining how the questions had been negotiated in advance.
“When I was asked to do this interview, it was paramount to me to elevate Black voices. I never felt pressured to ask certain questions,” Lawful-Sanders said. “I chose the questions that were most important to the Black and brown communities we serve in … Philadelphia. Those questions turned out to be exactly what Black and brown communities wanted.”
Matt Viser contributed to this report.
News Source : www.washingtonpost.com
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