The Daily Beast has learnt that Joe Biden's "extended" interview with George Stephanopolous, which aims to kickstart the troubled president's return, may only run for fifteen minutes.
As Biden makes two hurriedly planned campaign visits in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin on Friday, the ABC News anchor will go there to meet with him. Wednesday night, ABC said that portions of the recorded conversation will premiere on Friday's World News Tonight, and then it would be the subject of an 8 p.m. primetime special on ABC that would replace Jeopardy! experts. On Sunday, it will rerun in its entirety on This Week.
However, The Daily Beast has discovered that there is genuine worry within ABC News' higher echelons behind closed doors that Stephanopolous may only have as little as 15 minutes to carry out what ought to be a thorough interview providing insight into the president's mental condition.
Prior until now, ABC News failed to say on how long the interview lasted. In response to a query from The Daily Beast, the Biden campaign rejected the idea, calling it "false." A representative for the White House agreed. There will be a lengthier interview.
Although the White House and ABC News have not reached a consensus on the precise duration of Biden's interview with the seasoned interviewer, the practicalities of doing such sessions during campaign visits may significantly restrict them. In case efforts to talk with the president for a longer period of time failed, senior network leaders participated in calls on Wednesday to prepare questions for the smallest amount of time.
According to one source, it would take more like 20 minutes, which is still not a lot of time for even a skilled interviewer to address topics like Biden's mental health and his capacity to continue the campaign.
As Biden makes two hurriedly planned campaign visits in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin on Friday, the ABC News anchor will go there to meet with him. Wednesday night, ABC said that portions of the recorded conversation will premiere on Friday's World News Tonight, and then it would be the subject of an 8 p.m. primetime special on ABC that would replace Jeopardy! experts. On Sunday, it will rerun in its entirety on This Week.
However, The Daily Beast has discovered that there is genuine worry within ABC News' higher echelons behind closed doors that Stephanopolous may only have as little as 15 minutes to carry out what ought to be a thorough interview providing insight into the president's mental condition.
Prior until now, ABC News failed to say on how long the interview lasted. In response to a query from The Daily Beast, the Biden campaign rejected the idea, calling it "false." A representative for the White House agreed. There will be a lengthier interview.
Although the White House and ABC News have not reached a consensus on the precise duration of Biden's interview with the seasoned interviewer, the practicalities of doing such sessions during campaign visits may significantly restrict them. In case efforts to talk with the president for a longer period of time failed, senior network leaders participated in calls on Wednesday to prepare questions for the smallest amount of time.
According to one source, it would take more like 20 minutes, which is still not a lot of time for even a skilled interviewer to address topics like Biden's mental health and his capacity to continue the campaign.
