President Biden is traveling to New York on Monday and will tape an interview with late-night talk show host Seth Meyers, the latest in a series of softball interviews with celebrities as he eschews questions from traditional media outlets.
The sit-down with the “Late Night” host is Mr. Biden’s first interview since December, when he appeared on comedian Conan O’Brien’s podcast. It will air after midnight on NBC.
The president will also attend a campaign meeting while in New York.
Mr. Biden has skipped appearing on mainstream media programs in favor of more friendly show-business-style interviews. He has yet to appear on Fox News, and last did a CNN town hall in October 2021. But he has appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and “The Drew Barrymore Show.”
Last October, after Hamas’ sneak attack on Israel, Mr. Biden did appear on “60 Minutes.” That was the 81-year-old’s first traditional news interview since June 2023, when he was mocked on social media for awkwardly walking off the set of Nicole Wallace’s MSNBC show before the commercial break.
The low-risk conversations with supportive celebrities have been a way of creating positive publicity for the president without running into the danger of a major gaffe. Mr. O’Brien, for example, asked the president about how fast he drove his Corvette and whether he’d be willing to swap hairstyles.
Mr. Biden has granted a sit-down interview to one wire service outlet, The Associated Press. He is the first president in decades who has not sat for an interview with The Washington Post or The New York Times.
So far, Mr. Biden has participated in 74 interviews, the fewest of any president since Ronald Reagan, according to data compiled by presidential scholar Martha Kumar. In comparison, Mr. Trump had granted 273 interviews.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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