A Milwaukee radio station acknowledged that it edited footage of an interview with President Biden before airing it after his campaign requested some cuts.
According to the announcement: An edited version of a July 3 interview with Biden that aired the next day on “The Earl Ingraham Show” was released by Civic Media on Thursday.
“Civil Media management was informed that shortly after the phone interview was recorded, they received a call from the Biden campaign requesting that the recording be edited twice before airing,” the company said.
Civic Media said the production team considered the edits to the interview “not substantive” and allowed the president’s interview to be released with “two short segments removed.”
The interview was part of the Biden campaign’s efforts to ease voter fears following his poor performance in the debates, with Democrats worried the 81-year-old president may not be able to beat former President Donald Trump in this fall’s election and serve another four years if re-elected.
Civic Media said it shared the edited portions and released the full, unedited interview “in the interest of transparency.”
“Given the gravity of the current political campaign, the importance of this election, and the importance of public scrutiny of our highest-ranking public officials, we believe it is important to share this information,” the groups wrote.
The first clip, excised from the original interview, includes Biden saying, “I have more Black people in my administration, in key positions, in Cabinet positions, than any other president, all other presidents combined.”
The second clip excised from the interview shows Biden talking about Trump’s call for the death penalty for the Central Park Five.
“I don’t know if they’re calling for an execution by hanging, but they’re saying he was convicted of murder,” Biden said.
The station acknowledged it failed to meet journalistic standards but said the decision to edit the interview was “made in good faith” and that it supports host Earl Ingram and his team.
“Our hosts have always felt free to ask questions and air the segments they believe will be most helpful to listeners,” a Biden campaign spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Hill.
Civic Media was one of two radio stations that recently interviewed Biden. The president’s interview with a black-owned radio station in Philadelphia also made headlines recently. The radio host who interviewed Biden acknowledged using questions provided in advance by the Biden campaign.
