ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said his post-debate interview with President Joe Biden was “heartbreaking up close.”
The comment appears in Chris Whipple’s new book, Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History, released Tuesday. The book dives into the chaos within the Democratic Party after Biden’s poor debate performance on June 27 against Donald Trump.
To calm the panic, the White House agreed to an interview with Stephanopoulos on July 5. The goal was to reassure voters and party members about Biden’s fitness for another term.
But Whipple wrote that Biden came off as “hoarse and semi-coherent.” Stephanopoulos, he said, was equally dismayed. “Stephanopoulos questioned the president gently, like a grandson,” Whipple noted.
When asked via email for his reaction, Stephanopoulos didn’t hold back: “Heartbreaking up close.” A similar sentiment was caught on camera days later by TMZ. A man asked if Biden should step down. Stephanopoulos answered, “I don’t think he can serve four more years.”
ABC News quickly responded, saying Stephanopoulos was sharing a “personal opinion,” not the network’s official stance.
Biden’s performance in the interview didn’t help much. At one point, he claimed he was doing the “goodest job” he could. When asked if he had rewatched the debate, Biden replied, “I don’t think I did, no.”
Less than three weeks later, on July 21, Biden officially ended his campaign.