President Joe Biden will sit down with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News on Friday for a televised interview while his campaign remains in damage-control mode following last week’s botched presidential debate.
This will be the president’s second interview with the ABC News anchor, adding to his short list of televised interviews since taking office. Biden currently holds the record for the fewest press conferences and media interviews held by presidents in over 40 years.
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News of the interview came just days after Biden struggled on stage at the first presidential debate with former President Donald Trump, often stumbling over his words and giving confusing responses. The 81-year-old has been open about his history of struggling with a speech impediment as a child and largely overcoming it into adulthood.
The upcoming interview may be Biden’s redemption for his performance last week. Here’s a look at the president’s infrequent TV appearances before Friday’s interview.
More:When is Joe Biden's ABC interview? How to watch president's sitdown with George Stephanopoulos
May 2024
Biden’s most recent televised appearance was with CNN’s Erin Burnett, who spoke with him about job growth, the Israel-Hamas war and the protests on college campuses that followed.
April 2024
Biden spoke with media personality and radio host Howard Stern in a filmed interview on SiriusXM, saying he’d be “happy to debate” Trump, indicating for the first time he’d be open to doing so during the 2024 election season.
During the interview, Biden addressed his struggles with stuttering.
“You realize how humiliating it is,” he said. “It taught me to understand what other people are going through.”
In April, Biden was criticized by the New York Times for his lack of access to the media, and the president joked about it in his speech at the White House Correspondent’s Association’s annual dinner.
“Of course, the New York Times issued a statement blasting me for ‘actively and effectively avoiding independent journalists,’” Biden said.
“I do interviews with strong independent journalists who millions of people actually listen to—likeHoward Stern.”
March 2024
MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart interviewed Biden after his Super Tuesday wins and the State of the Union address.
Capehart questioned Biden about calling an undocumented immigrant an “illegal” during his address, saying that he regrets using it and it was a misstep.
February 2024
Biden made an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers in front of a live studio audience a week before Super Tuesday.
The talk show host and comedian quickly jumped to the topic of the case of his classified documents and age.
Meyers: “Some classified documents recently leaked, and this isn’t a gotcha show, but I do want to ask about it. It says you are currently 81 years old.”
Biden: “Who the hell told you that? Yeah, that’s classified! That’s classified!”
Meyers: “All jokes aside, according to recent polling, this is a real concern for American voters. How do you address that concern, going forward, as you come up to the 2024 election?”
Biden: “Well, a couple things. Number one, you got to take a look at the other guy. He’s about as old as I am, but he can’t even remember his wife’s name. Number one. Number two, it’s about how old your ideas are.”
October 2023
CBS News anchor and correspondent Scott Pelley interviewed Biden on 60 Minutes, mainly talking about the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
June 2023
Biden sat down with MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace to discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn affirmative action precedent.
After Wallace concluded her questions and thanked Biden, the president got up while the camera was still filming and exited off-screen.
September 2023
Former CNN White House correspondent John Harwood conducted a September 2023 interview with the president where he discussed hyper-partisanship and the Supreme Court. According to ProPublica, who Harwood worked with to film and produce the interview, Biden did not receive any questions or topics ahead of time.
September 2022
Pelley interviewed Biden for 60 Minutes for the first time in 2022 and addressed concerns about Biden’s age.
Pelley: “How would you say your mental focus is?”
Biden: “Oh, it’s focused. I’d say it’s-- I think it’s-- I-- I haven’t-- look, I have trouble even mentioning, even saying to myself, my own head, the number of years. I no more think of myself as being as old as I am than fly. I mean, it’s just not-- I haven’t-- observed anything in terms of-- there’s not things I don’t do now that I did before, whether it’s physical, or mental, or anything else.”
The president’s jumbled response quickly overtook parts of the internet and is often used to mock Biden and his speech impediment.
June 2022
Biden discussed gun violence and the then-prospect of Roe V. Wade being overturned with talk show host Jimmy Kimmel for his first late-night appearance as president.
The interview came as his approval rating hit an all-time low for his administration, and tensions were high as Russia continued its invasion of Ukraine.
August 2021
Stephanopoulos interviewed Biden in 2021 for the first time and questioned the president about the largely criticized military operation to pull American troops from Afghanistan.
March 2021
Former ESPN Sage Steele conducted a pre-taped interview with Biden on the sports industry’s bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic one year after the major outbreak.
Steele said in April that her interview with the president was “scripted” by ESPN.
February 2021
Biden gave his first on-camera interview of his presidency with NBC Nightly News with Norah O’Donnell.
The then-78-year-old talked about his hopes for his first 100 days in office, including recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
— Sam Woodward is the Minnesota elections reporting fellow for USA Today. You can reach her at swoodward@gannett.com, on X @woodyreports, or on Threads @samjowoody
