Joe Biden’s “extended” interview with George Stephanopolous, intended to jumpstart a comeback for the embattled president, will last as little as 15 minutes, The Daily Beast has learned.
The ABC News anchor will travel to Wisconsin Friday to speak with Biden as he conducts two hastily arranged campaign stops in the critical swing state. ABC announced Wednesday night that parts of the taped interview would air first on Friday’s edition of World News Tonight and be followed by an 8 p.m. primetime special, where it would take the place of Jeopardy! Masters. It will air again in full on This Week on Sunday.
But The Daily Beast has learned that behind the scenes there is deep concern inside ABC News’ upper echelons that Stephanopolous could get as little as 15 minutes to conduct what should be a searching interview offering insight into the president’s mental state.
ABC News earlier declined to comment on the length of the interview. The Biden campaign denied the suggestion when questioned by The Daily Beast, while a White House spokesperson said it was “False. The interview will be longer.”
While there is no agreement between ABC News and the White House on exactly how long Biden spends with the veteran interviewer, the logistics of conducting it during campaign stops could limit it severely. Senior network figures were involved in calls Wednesday to prepare questions for the shortest time in case attempts to speak with the president for longer failed.
One source suggested it would be more in the range of 20 minutes—still a relatively short period of time for even an accomplished interviewer to cover questions both over Biden’s cognitive state and his ability to stay in the campaign.
