Second local radio host admits to getting questions from Biden team ahead of interview with president
Another local radio host who interviewed President Biden in the days following the presidential debate admitted that he received the questions beforehand.
In statements given to ABC News, Wisconsin radio station host Earl Ingram confirmed that he was given five questions to ask Biden during their recent chat and wasn’t able to get through all of them before the interview ended.
"Yes, I was given some questions for Biden," Ingram told the outlet on Saturday.
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Ingram, who is the host of "The Earl Ingram Show" on WMCS in Milwaukee, was the second local radio host this weekend to admit they received a list of questions to use for interviewing Biden.
Andrea Lawful-Sanders, who hosts "The Source" on WURD in Philadelphia, told CNN anchor Victor Blackwell on Saturday that the questions for her interview with Biden "were sent to me for approval."
"I approved them," Lawful-Sanders told Blackwell, who detailed the questions, stating they were about Biden's accomplishments, debate performance, progress in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, what's at stake in the election, and what he would say to voters who are considering not voting in the presidential election.
The CNN anchor also pointed out that the questions the Philadelphia host asked were "essentially the same" as the ones in Biden's interview with Ingram, who was also interviewed by Blackwell alongside Lawful-Sanders.
Ingram confirmed to ABC News that he was given questions from Biden’s team, mentioning that he "didn't get a chance to ask him all the things" he wanted before their time was up.
The outlet noted that the host said he didn’t see anything too problematic with being given the questions, and that he was just happy to have the opportunity to speak to the president.
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"To think that I was going to get an opportunity to ask any question to the president of the United States, I think, is a bit more than anybody should expect," he told the outlet, adding, "Certainly the fact that they gave me this opportunity ... meant a lot to me."
As Blackwell stated while talking with Lawful-Sanders, hosts receiving questions ahead of their interviews with Biden may not be the best way to downplay increasing concern that Biden is unfit to win re-election or lead the country for another four years.
The CNN host told his guest, "It’s just that if the White House is trying now to prove the vim, vigor, acuity of the president, I don‘t know how they do that by sending questions first before the interview so that the president knows what‘s coming."
In response to the Philadelphia host’s statements to CNN, Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt told Fox News Digital that it’s "not at all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer."
Hitt’s statement continued: "These questions were relevant to news of the day - the president was asked about this debate performance as well as what he'd delivered for black Americans. We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions, and hosts are always free to ask the questions they think will best inform their listeners."