- Stephanopoulos, 63, was held for an interview to give his reaction
- His comments were shocking and went viral on social media
- Stephanopoulos publicly apologized for his comments later on Tuesday
George Stephanopoulos gave his blunt assessment of Joe Biden’s performance in their controversial interview on Friday, but immediately regretted it.
Biden’s disappointing performance during an interview with the former White House spokesman by ABC News on Friday followed a disastrous performance during a debate last month.
Stephanopoulos, 63, was detained for an interview in which he gave his reaction to the fallout from his conversation with the president.
When asked by a pedestrian whether Biden should resign, he replied, “I don’t think he can serve another four years.”
The video quickly became popular on the Internet and now the longtime ABC News host has publicly apologized.
ABC News star host George Stephanopoulos apologized after giving his blunt assessment of Joe Biden’s performance in their high-profile interview on Friday
Biden’s disappointing performance in a televised interview with the former White House spokesman on Friday followed a disastrous debate performance last month
“Today I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn’t have done that,” he said Puck News in response to the video, which was originally posted on TMZ.
ABC News released its own statement about what Stephanopoulos had said.
“George was stating his own position and not the position of ABC News.”
Biden’s cognitive function has been under intense scrutiny since his car crash while running for president against Donald Trump last month.
On Friday he tried to limit the damage with an interview with ABC, an appearance that was again criticized by members of his own party.
Biden came through Friday’s 22-minute interview with ABC News without any major gaffes, but it seems unlikely to fully assuage concerns about his age and fitness over the next four years, and that he won’t be able to beat Donald Trump in November.
The struggle has led to calls for Biden to withdraw from the race, but he has so far remained steadfast in his commitment to running. A senior Democratic adviser said looking ahead ABC news that the president should “get ready for a wild week.”
Many had hoped that Friday’s interview with George Stephanopoulos would be a chance for Biden, 81, to prove he is fit to continue his leadership.
The video quickly went viral on the Internet and now the longtime ABC News host has publicly apologized
Biden got through Friday’s 22-minute ABC News interview without any major gaffes, but it seemed unlikely to completely assuage concerns about his age and fitness for the next four years and his ability to defeat Donald Trump in November.
But the cringe-inducing performance, in which he responded to questions in a hoarse voice, lost the thread in mid-sentence and wandered off, failed to convince many Democrats.
The president has been confident since the interview that he will remain in the race.
A number of leading Democrats are now desperately looking for possible alternatives in case Biden drops out of the race.