Biden campaign sent questions to radio hosts ahead of recent interviews

President Joe Biden’s campaign is facing continued scrutiny after it was revealed that questions for two radio interviews were provided in advance by his aides.

Andrea Lawful-Sanders, host of “The Source” on WURD in Philadelphia, told CNN on Saturday that Biden's officials sent her a list of eight questions ahead of the Wednesday interview. Lawful-Sanders approved four of these questions to ask the president.

“I got several questions — eight of them,” she explained. “And the four that were chosen were the ones that I approved.”

Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, clarified that it was campaign aides, not White House officials, who provided the questions, per the New York Times. Hitt emphasized that it is "not uncommon" for campaigns to share preferred topics for interviews and that the campaign does not “condition interviews on acceptance of these questions”

“Hosts are always free to ask the questions they think will best inform their listeners,” Hitt said. “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.”

During the interview, Biden acknowledged his debate performance, stating that it was poor but that the “90 minutes on stage” does not negate his accomplishments over his three and a half years as president. He emphasized the importance of black voters, saying, “Black voters in cities like Philadelphia are the ones who are going to decide the outcome of this election.”

However, the interview was not without issues, as Biden stumbled over his words and mistakenly claimed he was proud to have been “the first black woman to serve with a black president.”  The Times noted some of the questions that were sent to Lawful-Sanders were very similar to those that were sent to another host when Biden was doing another interview.