Hillary Clinton team urged Biden to speak to Howard Stern
Hillary Clinton's team encouraged President Biden to appear on "The Howard Stern Show," his producer revealed this week, after she rebuffed opportunities to speak with Stern in 2016.
The long-running talk show host surprised viewers with an unannounced appearance from Biden for his live Sirius XM show on Friday. The friendly interview covered many topics but was light on serious policy, with discussions of Biden's football playing, his family life, time as a lifeguard and first campaign for the U.S. Senate, among others.
The show's executive producer, Gary Dell’Abate, revealed on Monday that the interview was "four years" in the making, but Clinton was helpful in relaying a Stern sit-down could boost Biden in an election year.
"Believe me, there were a lot of people who were involved in helping this booking from people inferred on all that stuff — but you know who was super helpful on this? Really, really helpful. Hillary Clinton," Dell'Abate told Stern, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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"Her people really let Biden’s people know this was a good place to be."
Stern, an avid Clinton backer, revealed to The Hollywood Reporter in 2019 that he had desperately tried to book her during her presidential campaign but was rebuffed. According to the report, he was worried about Clinton's ability to beat Donald Trump in 2016 and thought an appearance on his show could help connect her with voters.
In 2019, she did finally appear on the shock jock's show, fueling 2020 speculation.
"There’s a segment of my audience that really gets turned on to people they thought they hated because we tap into their humanity," Stern said at the time. "They were like, ‘F— Lady Gaga, why are you having her on?’ And then it’s over, and they go, ‘S— man, I’m going to go see her in concert.'"
On Monday, Stern expressed similar sentiments about hoping Biden's "humanity" came across in their hour-long interview.
"It was just very, very natural and I was moved by the whole conversation … getting an hour with the sitting President of the United States was a great honor," he said.
Biden's choice to speak with Stern coincides with criticism he is facing for booking softball interviews rather than conducting more serious interviews with mainstream media outlets.
One day before the Stern appearance, the New York Times published a harshly critical statement condemning Biden's historic avoidance of one-on-one interviews with reputable news outlets.
"Mr. Biden has granted far fewer press conferences and sit-down interviews with independent journalists than virtually all of his predecessors," a spokesperson for The Times wrote in part.
Biden joked about it at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner.
"I do interviews with strong independent journalists who millions of people actually listen to, like Howard Stern," he said.
The White House declined comment, while a representative for Clinton didn't respond to Fox News Digital.
Fox News' David Rutz contributed to this article.