President Joe Biden’s team attempted to stop a 2023 interview when the topic turned to his son, Hunter.
The interview was with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle, who described the moment when she asked the president how an indictment of his son would affect his presidency, Fox News reported.
“In the way of traditional media, the White House runs the show. When I interviewed President Biden, they gave me 10 minutes, OK? A politician can knock out one answer in 15 minutes,” Ruhle said in an interview with Lukas Thimm. “At minute 9.5, I asked the president, ‘Your son, Hunter, might be indicted by your Department of Justice, how will this impact your presidency?’”
Immediately after she asked the question, Biden’s aides objected.
As Mediaite reported, there was “crosstalk” between the two camps, which were not part of the final cut when the interview aired in May 2023.
Ruhle, claiming issues with the audio, asked Biden to repeat his answer, according to the transcript.
“A completely reasonable question. As soon as I said those words, President Biden’s team waved in front of the camera, started screaming and yelling and stopped the interview.” Ruhle said, per Fox News. “Now that immediately went on, that’s public record, that was in the transcript, that became its own story, and then they punished us.”
When the interview hit the airwaves, the president answered Ruhle’s question.
“First of all, my son has done nothing wrong. I trust him. I have faith in him. It impacts my presidency by making me feel proud of him,” he said.
What didn’t make the air was the crosstalk or the president’s teams reported attempt to shut down the question.
Biden complained during the interview that “negative” press coverage resulted in his bad poll numbers.
“All they’ve heard is negative news for three years. Everything is negative,” Biden during the interview. “I’m not being critical of the press, but you turn on the television – the only way you’re going to get a hit is if there’s something negative, you know. You don’t – anyway, that’s number one.”
Ruhle also spoke about the difference between the Republican and Democratic candidates during the election. A notable difference was access.
Ruble had asked President-elect Donald Trump for an interview before the election, which he declined.
However, she was able to call Trump directly if needed.
On the flip side, things were vastly different if she tried to Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.
