President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign is under scrutiny after it was revealed that they supplied pre-approved questions for interviews with two radio talk show hosts last week. This revelation comes as Biden faces increasing calls from within his party to drop out of the race following a lackluster debate performance.
Andrea Lawful-Sanders, who hosts “The Source” in Philadelphia, told CNN that she received several questions from the campaign, selecting four to use in her interview with Biden. “The questions were sent to me for approval. I approved them,” she explained. Similarly, Earl Ingram of “The Earl Ingram Show” in Milwaukee confirmed that the campaign provided him with four questions, which he used verbatim.
CNN’s Victor Blackwell noted that both hosts asked Biden nearly identical questions, further fueling criticism. A campaign spokesperson defended the practice, stating, “It’s not at all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer,” but emphasized that the shows were not required to use the provided questions.
Facing backlash, the Biden campaign announced that it would cease sending pre-approved questions for interviews with the president. This move was intended to mitigate damage from Biden’s debate performance but has instead intensified scrutiny over his ability to handle spontaneous interactions.
The controversy was compounded by accusations from Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt, who claimed that Trump’s campaign had set conditions for an interview with a Virginia television station. Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung responded by criticizing Biden’s campaign for trying to control the media narrative through pre-screened questions, insisting that Trump engaged in a broader range of topics during his interviews.
The incident raises significant questions about media integrity and the transparency of political campaigns, highlighting the delicate balance between preparing candidates and ensuring genuine, unscripted interactions with the press.
