An uneven interview with George Stephanapoulos was too little, too late—and maybe a bit too churlish.
President Joe Biden speaks with George Stephanopoulos on July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin. The president sat down with Stephanopoulos while on the campaign trail, a few days after a debate with former president Donald Trump.
(ABC via Getty Images)
I tried not to see meaning that an episode of Jeopardy came on before President Joe Biden’s half-hour interview Friday night with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and that it was followed by Wheel of Fortune.
Whatever. Biden was in jeopardy, and there was no way for him to win this wheel of fortune. He’s been trying, and failing, to clean up the mess ever since after he blew his debate with convicted felon Donald Trump nine days ago. On Thursday he’d made some minor flubs with sympathetic Black radio interviewers telling one that he was proud to have been “the first Black woman to serve with a Black president.”
Current Issue
You know what he meant: He served as vice president to the first Black president, Barack Obama, and he picked as his partner the first Black, South Asian, female vice president, Kamala Harris. But he has delivered that line many times, more clearly, and with more elan.
Stephanopoulos, you’ll recall, was a Bill Clinton operative 30-some years ago. He’s mostly proven himself a fair and nonpartisan journalist, but of course some on the right thought he’d go easy. He was probably one of the friendliest mainstream interlocutors Biden could have picked.
And yet, it didn’t go very well for Biden. It wasn’t awful, like most of last week’s debate. But it wasn’t good, which Biden needed it to be. Stephanopoulous could have perhaps made it better. He never established any kind of rapport with Biden, which I think is one hallmark of a good interview, even if it goes bad. But his approach was defensible, especially given that he had only 30 minutes.
Stephanopoulous started with the facts. “You’ve said you had a bad night,” Stephanopolous began. “Was this a bad episode, or a sign of a more serious condition? (That is essentially how Nancy Pelosi has framed the question, for what it’s worth.)
It was a bad episode, no indication of a serious condition, Biden insisted, as he has before.
“You say you were exhausted [by two trips to Europe], but you came home from Europe 11-12 days earlier,” Stephanopolous added, “You were at Camp David for six days.”
Popular
“swipe left below to view more authors”Swipe →
“I was sick, We did a Covid test. I had a really bad cold,” Biden answered.
Stephanopolous asked: “Did you watch the debate afterwards?”
“I don’t think I did, no,” Biden answered. (He doesn’t think he did?)
“Did you know how badly it was going?… It seemed like you were having trouble from the first question in…”
“No, I just had a bad night…. You’ve had some bad interviews once in a while…”
That’s how it went. There was essentially nothing else. It was tedious.
Stephanopoulous sometimes came at Biden a bit harder. He quoted The New York Times saying, “Biden’s lapses are said to be increasingly common and worrisome.”
“I’m also the guy who saved the economy. Ukraine…. I took on Big Pharma, I beat them,” Biden replied. (He took them on; he hasn’t quite beaten them, but he’s got them on their heels. Which is why he, or his vice president, deserves another term.)
“What if Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries, Jim Clyburn, Chuck Schumer…,” Stephanopolous began, implying they might ask him to withdraw. “They’ve all said I should stay in the race,” Biden retorted. (That’s not precisely true.)
“You haven’t seen from Democrats their discontent?” the host went on. “They love you. They will be forever grateful to you for defeating Donald Trump: They don’t think you can win, and they want you to go with grace…”
Biden continued his protest. And maybe he’s right.
But I thought it might be classy to mention Vice President Harris, who would succeed him, even if he continues on, in case of any emergency. A lot of the freakout over replacing Biden has come down to people’s discomfort with a Black, South Indian woman they don’t think can win, if she had to run this year, as his replacement.
Yet Harris has grown into a new role, post the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision striking down abortion rights, but also post… just people getting out of her way. (I have a major profile of her coming soon.) She’s Biden’s insurance policy, should his… condition? Debate night jitters?… worsen.
So I thought it was odd that Biden didn’t even mention his VP. But then again, he didn’t seem at all on his game.
“If you stay in and Trump is elected, and everything you’re warning about comes to pass, how will you feel in January?” Stephanopoulos asked Biden.
“I’ll feel, as long as I gave it my all, and I did as good a job as I know I can do, that’s what this is about,” Biden responded.
No, Mr. President, that’s how you get a fourth-grade participation trophy.
If Trump wins, you will go down in history as the worst sort of loser: a vain denialist, who couldn’t read polling numbers and couldn’t hear his trusted extended circle and only listened to the encrusted folks who’ve been with him almost 50 years.
I’m very sad. I voted for him, and I will again if that’s my choice. He’s been the best president of my lifetime. But he doesn’t seem to understand what he’s up against. Nothing about this interview helped.
Thank you for reading The Nation
We hope you enjoyed the story you just read, just one of the many incisive, deeply-reported articles we publish daily. Now more than ever, we need fearless journalism that shifts the needle on important issues, uncovers malfeasance and corruption, and uplifts voices and perspectives that often go unheard in mainstream media.
Throughout this critical election year and a time of media austerity and renewed campus activism and rising labor organizing, independent journalism that gets to the heart of the matter is more critical than ever before. Donate right now and help us hold the powerful accountable, shine a light on issues that would otherwise be swept under the rug, and build a more just and equitable future.
For nearly 160 years, The Nation has stood for truth, justice, and moral clarity. As a reader-supported publication, we are not beholden to the whims of advertisers or a corporate owner. But it does take financial resources to report on stories that may take weeks or months to properly investigate, thoroughly edit and fact-check articles, and get our stories into the hands of readers.
Donate today and stand with us for a better future. Thank you for being a supporter of independent journalism.
More from The Nation
Joe Biden has created a distraction from the existential question that should define this election.
Jeet Heer
The former president’s plans for a second term could reshape American education and academic freedom as we know it.
StudentNation
/
Owen Dahlkamp
To counter authoritarian drift, Democrats can’t just swap out nominees. They need to be bold.
Eric Reinhart
King George III was tossed aside 248 years ago. Now the court seeks to impose King Donald I.
John Nichols
The United States of America is not—yet—a family business. The future of our democracy is too important to be left to one man, his relatives, or his major donors.
D.D. Guttenplan
