Joe Biden takes heat for giving Afghanistan interview to George Stephanopoulos ex-Clinton aide

President Biden took questions Wednesday on the Afghanistan crisis not from White House reporters, but from former Clinton administration aide and current ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, prompting a wave of criticism on the right.

Matt Whitlock, former deputy chief of staff to now-retired Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, called the White House’s decision to grant the exclusive interview to Mr. Stephanopoulos “outrageous.”

“Outrageous optics for Biden to do a friendly interview with former Democrat staffer George Stephanopoulos but not take questions from the press,” tweeted Mr. Whitlock, vice president of CRC Advisors.

Mr. Biden made remarks earlier Wednesday about the novel coronavirus vaccine and masks, but left without accepting questions from the press corps.

Former Trump administration official Richard Grenell faulted Mr. Stephanopoulos for failing to press Mr. Biden on his response to photos showing hundreds of Afghanis crammed into a U.S. C-17 transport airplane â€" and some falling from the airborne plane’s exterior â€" after the Taliban took over Kabul.

“We’ve seen those hundreds of people packed into a C-17. We’ve seen Afghans falling …,” said Mr. Stephanopoulos.

Mr. Biden interrupted by saying, “That was four days ago, five days ago,” even though the incident reportedly occurred Monday.

According to the ABC News video, Mr. Stephanopoulos followed up with, “What did you think when you first saw those pictures?”

Mr. Grenell tweeted that Mr. Stephanopoulos “let Joe Biden get away with saying the C17 liftoff was ‘4 or 5 days ago’. It wasn’t. And it doesn’t matter when it was. Stephanopoulos is an activist Democrat.”

Outrageous optics for Biden to do a friendly interview with former Democrat staffer George Stephanopoulos but not take questions from the press.

(But reading this I guess you can see why they’re keeping him locked down) https://t.co/5M5Nxdq4SD

â€" Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) August 18, 2021

Mr. Stephanopoulos, host of ABC’s “This Week” and co-host of “Good Morning America,” was former President Bill Clinton’s campaign director and White House senior policy advisor, joining the network after leaving the Clinton administration in 1996.

Said one commenter on Twitter: “This is like Kelly Anne Conway interviewing a Republican,” referring to former President Donald Trump’s top aide Kellyanne Conway.

Said another: “Seriously, an exclusive interview with Stephanopoulos confirms that admin. is now in damage control mode.”

“Even a Democrat fluffer like Stephanopoulos can’t save Biden from himself,” said the @craftmastah account.

The Patriot Editor said that even though the president declined to answer questions earlier from reporters, “Biden had sat down earlier with George Stephanopoulos. Good ol’ reliable George. Biden needed a lap dog, and there are few more obedient.”

Biden was prepared for an interview with George Stephanopoulos and still made mistakes. This is why he will not take questions from the press. https://t.co/pCoodh6pjT

â€" Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) August 18, 2021

Mr. Stephanopoulos’ biography on the ABC News website lists his Clinton administration role as well as his journalism awards as a network anchor.

“For more than two decades his range and expertise have played a pivotal role at the network, garnering three Emmys, a DuPont, three Murrows and two Cronkite Awards,” said the bio.

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