Biden to discuss Black voters' concerns during BET interview

The BET Media Group announced that President Biden will sit down for an interview with BET News’s Ed Gordon set to air on Wednesday, July 17, to speak directly to Black Americans on issues impacting the community.

“The conversation will focus on critical issues impacting our community and discuss why Black Americans should continue to support his candidacy amidst growing public concerns and calls for him to withdraw,” according to BET’s release on the interview. 

This is the president’s third scheduled sit-down interview with a TV network since his disastrous debate performance on June 27, which has led to 19 Congressional Democrats and other party leaders calling on him to step down as the party’s nominee. 

After the debate, Biden’s first live interviews were with two Black hosts, one based out of Milwaukee and the other in Wisconsin. Those interviews also became topics of controversy after the two hosts, WURD Radio Host Andrea Lawful Sanders and Earl Ingram, revealed that the Biden campaign had provided a list of pre-approved questions that the hosts chose from for the interview. 

Philadelphia-based WURD Radio announced earlier this week that it was “mutually parting ways” with Sanders after she revealed that she had been provided questions. 

“Agreeing to a pre-determined set of questions jeopardizes that trust and is not a practice that WURD Radio engages in or endorses as a matter of practice or official policy,” WURD Radio wrote in its statement announcing the end of its contract with Sanders. 

On Thursday, Wisconsin-based Civic Media, which houses Ingram’s show, also revealed that it had edited Biden’s interview with Ingram at the request of the Biden campaign. 

Biden’s interview with BET is part of a larger campaign push to demonstrate that he has the ability to speak unscripted and is up to the demands of a campaign and the presidency. 

Last week, Biden sat down for an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, and on Monday NBC’s Lester Holt will sit down for an interview with Biden. 

The strategy has had mixed success until now. After the ABC interview last week and a press conference at the end of the NATO summit on Wednesday, more Democrats in Congress and across the country have come out calling for Biden to step down. 

In its release, BET said that the interview will be 30 minutes long, will be produced by Jason Samuels, and that they will release clips, photos and the interview transcript of “Black America Votes: The Biden Interview” at a later date.

"At this crucial moment, it is imperative for President Biden to directly address the concerns of Black voters and articulate his vision for the future,” BET wrote in a statement. “This exclusive half-hour special will discuss the growing concern over President Biden’s fitness for office, the state of the economy for Black families, the Project 2025 conservative policy agenda, and the fight to engage Black voters.” 

Black voters are critical to the president’s reelection push. Without them turning out in states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona, it is highly unlikely that Biden will win. 

Black leaders in Congress have stayed behind the president, and not a single person in Congress who has called for Biden to stand down is Black. 

A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found a large percentage of Black voters feel that Biden is too old for the job. However, the also survey found that 73 percent of Black voters plan on voting for Biden.