It is fairly rare for President Joe Biden to sit down for a formal interview.
But on Tuesday, he will be granting what is sure to be a hard-hitting interview to The Weather Channel.
White House communications director Ben LaBolt said in a tweet, “Today at the Grand Canyon – the President will tape an interview on his plan to combat climate change, addressing the threat posed by extreme weather and to promote resilience.”
“Meeting viewers where they are – including those who don’t tune into political news on a regular basis,” he added.
Today at the Grand Canyon – the President will tape an interview on his plan to combat climate change, addressing the threat posed by extreme weather and to promote resilience. Meeting viewers where they are – including those who don’t tune into political news on a regular basis. https://t.co/zQWBH2hlEs
— Ben LaBolt (@WHCommsDir) August 8, 2023
The full interview will air on Wednesday morning.
Now, we know from a former business partner of the president’s son, Hunter Biden, that he allegedly just loves to talk about the weather. So much so that when he was vice president, he would allegedly just shoot the breeze with Hunter Biden’s business partners and talk about the weather.
Apparently, talking about the weather for Joe Biden is the equivalent of Vice President Kamala Harris and Venn diagrams.
The argument idea of reaching viewers where they are is good. But who exactly does the White House think is going to tune into the weather channel to watch the president speak about climate change who is not already on board?
It is unlikely the interview will tackle other topics such as the economy, allegations of corruption, and questions about the president’s age and re-election bid.
Americans have a lot of questions they’d like to have the president address. And seeing him address those issues in an interview could, in theory, help alleviate their concerns about his age or the allegations against him.
In recent months, we’ve seen him fall on stage, sit at the beach, and mumble incoherently in front of a foreign leader.
Meanwhile, he is running for re-election for an incredibly taxing job, where he would leave office at the age of 86.
Perhaps his staff believes former President Donald Trump will win the nomination and be easy to defeat as he faces multiple criminal charges.
But polls have shown Joe Biden and Trump running neck-and-neck ahead of the general election.
And the more the president limits his appearances and challenging interactions with the press, the more questions it raises about his age and his mental acuity. Those lingering questions paired with a potential economic downturn or resurgence of inflation could be enough to tilt the election in his opponent’s favor.