Banks on Biden Stephanopoulos Interview: ‘ABC Owes It to the American People to Release the Entire Video’

Thursday, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) reacted to the portion of an ABC News interview with President Joe Biden in which the president defends his withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Banks argued on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” that “ABC owes it to the American people” to release the entire interview because Biden “refuses to answer questions in any public setting.” He questioned “what is going on” that is preventing the president from answering tough questions about his handling of Afghanistan.

“Should that entire unedited interview be released?” host Hugh Hewitt asked.

“Well, without a doubt,” Banks said. “I mean, if ABC was going to agree to an exclusive interview with the president, who refuses to answer questions in any public setting, then ABC owes it to the American people to release the entire video. Obviously, this interview did not go well for the president — the small snippet of it that we’ve seen, Hugh, but like you, I want to see all of it. The American people deserve to see all of it. The American people deserve to know why is this president hiding. What is going on? What is preventing this president from appearing before the American people and assuring us that there is a plan and answering any question, the tough questions, the easy questions, answer any questions about what it’s going to take to solve this catastrophe and lead this country forward.”

He continued, “And right now, the president is living up to the worst perceptions about him, and those perceptions are that he is incapable of leading, and the fact that he did a video with George, and whatever that agreement was to appear with George and do this interview, we don’t know what that agreement was. I’m sure it was they gave the White House some control over what was released. But ABC owes it to the American people to release all of it.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent