A video surfaced of ABC News anchor and former White House communications director George Stephanopoulos expressing his opinion on President Biden’s reelection campaign.
In footage released Tuesday by TMZ, the broadcast journalist is approached on a New York sidewalk by a person who asks him if he thinks Biden “should step down.” Stephanopoulos replies that he doesn’t think the president “can serve four more years.”
Stephanopoulos recently sat down with Biden for a 22-minute interview that was aired in prime time, part of the president’s ongoing effort to convince voters that his disastrous debate performance against former President Trump was just one bad night.
In the TMZ video, the “Good Morning America” star was dressed in casual attire, and the camera was pointed away from him, toward the sidewalk, when he made the comment.
Stephanopoulos told The Times in a statement that he “shouldn’t have” responded to the passerby’s question. A spokesperson for ABC added that Stephanopoulos’ “point of view” does not represent “the position of ABC News.”
Representatives for Stephanopoulos and ABC News did not immediately respond Wednesday to The Times’ requests for comment.
In the video, the person remarks that Stephanopoulos has “talked to [Biden] more than anybody else has lately,” referring to the journalist’s post-debate interview with the president last week. During the televised conversation, Biden called his widely panned debate performance a “bad episode” while rejecting concerns about his age and condition.
Amid calls from powerful Democrats — including several Hollywood luminaries — to drop out of the presidential race, Biden insisted at a recent rally in Wisconsin that he is continuing to run and is “going to win again.”
Entertainment industry players who have urged Biden to withdraw include “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, movie star and producer George Clooney and Disney heir Abigail Disney.
