Biden’s high-stakes ABC interview with George Stephanopoulos will only last 15-25 minutes: report

Joe Biden will be sitting down for an interview that could last only 15 minutes on Friday. The interview will be with George Stephanopoulos, a news anchor who was once the press secretary for President Bill Clinton, and is the first major interview since CNN's presidential debate.  

With Biden’s poll numbers down after his dismal debate performance against Donald Trump last week, the interview is widely seen as the Biden camp attempting to quell fears over the incumbent president's age and health. The interview could be as short as 15 minutes and likely not more than 25 minutes, three people familiar with negotiations told the New York Times. It is set to air on ABC News at 8 pm Eastern, with some clips being aired ahead of time during ABC's World News Tonight at 6:30 pm. 

The high-stakes interview may also be an attempt to shore up support from Democrats who have become increasingly skittish about the prospect of a Biden-Trump rematch for 2024. Corporate news outlets, such as the Washington Post, have gone so far as publishing a hypothetical dropout speech written by the editorial team for Biden. The New York Times as well as other outlets that have appeared friendly towards Biden have called on him to drop out of the race.  

Biden's interview with the left-leaning anchor, "One on One with President Biden," will reportedly be aired on ABC News without any cuts or edits, meaning that if Biden's aides attempt to intervene, it will all be caught on tape. The interview was hatched as a plan late Tuesday morning when Stephanopoulos got a text from Biden's White House communications director Ben LaBolt, one person familiar with the matter told the outlet. Biden and Stephanopoulos have been set to tape the interview Friday afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin.

The interview with Stephanopoulos may be the last shot Biden has in order to prove himself to be competent to gain enough support from his own party ahead of the DNC. The White House has denied that he will be dropping out of the race and Biden has vowed that he won't quit and will face-off in a second debate against Trump Sept. 10 on ABC News.