A second local radio host told ABC News on Saturday that he was given a list of questions ahead of his interview with President Joe Biden this week.
“Yes, I was given some questions for Biden,” Civic Media’s Earl Ingram told ABC News. Ingram, a prominent host on a Wisconsin radio station, interviewed Biden this week following his debate show.
Ingram said he was given five questions and ended up asking four of them.
“I didn’t get a chance to ask him everything I wanted to ask,” he said.
Ingram is now the second interviewer to be given questions by Biden aides to ask the president this week. Earlier today, another local radio host who interviewed Biden this week was given questions by CNN to ask Biden before the interview.
Ingram told ABC there was no apparent wrongdoing in practice. “To think that I would get a chance to ask the president of the United States any question was a little bit more than anyone expected,” he said.
He continued that he was grateful for the opportunity to interview Biden.
“Certainly them giving me this opportunity … means a lot to me,” Ingram said.
On CNN earlier Saturday, Andrea Lafull-Sanders, host of WURD’s “The Source,” said Biden officials had given her a list of eight questions ahead of an interview with Biden.
“The questions were sent to me for approval; I accepted them,” he said.
“I have many questions—eight of them,” she continued. “All four chosen are those whom I have approved.”
Responding to Lawful-Sanders, Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said in a statement that it was “unusual” for interviewers to share topics they care about. He noted that Lawful-Sanders was “free” to ask any questions. He also noted that it was the campaign that sent the questions, not the White House, as other reports have suggested.
“It’s not uncommon for interviewees to share topics they’re passionate about. These questions were relevant to the news of the day — the president was asked about this debate program and what he has to offer to black Americans,” the statement said. said.
“We do not condition interviews on accepting these questions, and hosts can always ask questions they want. In addition to these interviews, the president attended a press conference yesterday. After the debate, Americans have had several opportunities to see him unscripted.”
A source familiar with the Biden booking process told ABC News that moving forward they will “avoid” giving suggested questions to interviewers.
“Interviewers can always ask questions of their choice, and moving forward we will refrain from offering prescriptive questions.”
When Sherwin Hughes, another local radio host in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, interviewed Biden last month, the White House didn’t send him questions, and he said there were no prerequisites for the interviews — “None of that,” he told ABC News.
Earlier, he said, he and the White House discussed public topics during the interview, including the Affordable Care Act, and what he described as the White House “news points they wanted to communicate,” including Biden. Different from Trump.
Darian Morgan, who goes by the name “Big Tiger” in Atlanta’s V-103, interviewed Biden in May and told ABC News he was sent “sample questions” but “never an order” to stick with them.
“They sent me some sample questions, but by no means an absolute directive to stick to those questions,” Morgan told ABC News.
Morgan said the process was unlike any other interview he’s done, saying it was “not an unusual procedure.”
“In my history of interviewing elected officials, a lot of people want to do that,” he said.
