A second local radio host revealed on Saturday that he was provided with a list of questions in advance of his interview with President Joe Biden this week. Earl Ingram of CivicMedia, a prominent host at a Wisconsin radio station, confirmed to ABC News that he received five questions from Biden’s aides and ended up asking four of them during the interview. “I didn’t get a chance to ask him all the things I wanted to ask,” Ingram said.
Ingram’s disclosure follows a similar revelation by another local radio host, Andrea Lawful-Sanders, who interviewed Biden earlier this week. Lawful-Sanders, the host of WURD’s “The Source” in Philadelphia, told CNN that she was given eight questions by Biden officials, of which she approved four to ask during the interview. “The questions were sent to me for approval; I approved of them,” she said.
Ingram expressed that he did not see anything inherently wrong with the practice. “To think that I was gonna get an opportunity to ask any question to the President of the United States, I think, is a bit more than anybody should expect,” he said, adding that he was grateful for the opportunity to interview Biden at all. “Certainly the fact that they gave me this opportunity … meant a lot to me,” Ingram said.
Responding to the revelations, Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt stated that it is not uncommon for interviewees to share topics they would prefer to discuss. She emphasized that Lawful-Sanders was free to ask any questions she deemed fit. “It’s not at all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer. These questions were relevant to news of the day – the president was asked about this debate performance as well as what he’d delivered for black Americans,” Hitt said.
Hitt also clarified that the campaign, not the White House, sent over the questions. “We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions, and hosts are always free to ask the questions they think will best inform their listeners. In addition to these interviews, the President also participated in a press gaggle yesterday as well as an interview with ABC. Americans have had several opportunities to see him unscripted since the debate,” she added.
A source familiar with the Biden booking operation told ABC News that moving forward, they will refrain from offering suggested questions to interviewers. “While interview hosts have always been free to ask whatever questions they please, moving forward we will refrain from offering suggested questions,” the source said.
Sherwin Hughes, another local radio host in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who interviewed Biden last month, stated that the White House did not send him questions to ask and that there were no preconditions on the interviews. “None of that at all,” he told ABC News. Hughes mentioned that he and the White House discussed general topics he wanted to cover during the interview, including the Affordable Care Act, and the White House relayed “the message points that they wanted to communicate,” such as how Biden differed from Trump.
Darian Morgan, known as “Big Tigger” on Atlanta’s V-103, interviewed Biden in May and told ABC News that he was sent “sample questions” but it was “never a directive” to stick to them. “They did send me some sample questions, but by no means was there an absolute directive to stick to those questions,” Morgan said, adding that the process was not unlike other interviews he has conducted. “In my history of interviewing elected officials, a lot of people like to do that,” he said.
The radio interviews came at a critical moment for Biden’s political future as a growing number of elected officials, Democratic donors, and supporters express deep concerns about his age and capacity to serve a second term as president. Biden has faced enormous scrutiny this week, and his campaign has been working on damage control following his widely criticized debate performance.
Biden also took questions from pool reporters and sat with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for a 22-minute interview focused entirely on his age and fitness for office. He will again field questions from reporters during the NATO summit in Washington next week.
In a statement, Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt reiterated that it is “not at all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer.” She pointed to Biden participating in a press gaggle and Friday’s ABC News interview, noting, “Americans have had several opportunities to see him unscripted since the debate.”
The Biden campaign said later Saturday it will no longer suggest questions to interviewers. “While interview hosts have always been free to ask whatever questions they please, moving forward we will refrain from offering suggested questions,” a source familiar with the Biden booking operation told CNN.
The revelations have sparked a debate about journalistic integrity and the practice of providing questions in advance. Critics argue that it undermines the spontaneity and authenticity of interviews, while supporters claim it ensures that the interview stays focused on relevant topics.
Source: ABC News, CNN, NBC News
