ABC News exec was ‘furious’ after George Stephanopoulos said Biden can’t serve another White House term: report
A top ABC News executive was reportedly “furious” upon learning that George Stephanopoulos, a former Democratic operative, came off as biased against President Biden.
Stephanopoulos, 63, was told by the network’s news division head, Debra O’Connell, that “he is a newsman who is expected to be objective,” according to Radar Online, after video footage emerged of the former President Bill Clinton adviser telling a Manhattan passerby, “I don’t think [Biden] can serve four more years.”
The candid clip of Stephanopoulos, published by TMZ on Tuesday, reportedly sparked an internal meeting at ABC, which resulted in O’Connell asking that the “Good Morning America” and “This Week” host apologize for his remark — which he did.
“Earlier today I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn’t have,” the news anchor told Puck News in a statement hours after his comments went viral.
And ABC News, in its own statement to the outlet, added: “George expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News.”
A spokesperson for ABC News vehemently denied the Radar Online report.
“This is absolutely not true,” the spokesperson told The Post.
Stephanopoulos expressed his doubts about the 81-year-old president just days after conducting an interview with the commander-in-chief watched by an estimated 8.5 million Americans that focused on his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump and his political future amid plummeting poll numbers.
Ten sitting congressional Democratic lawmakers have called on Biden to end his re-election bid in the wake of his debate performance and interview with Stephanopoulos, which failed to quell concerns about the octogenarian president’s ability to beat Trump in November.
