ABC’s George Stephanopoulos lands crucial Biden interview, putting spotlight on his partisan past

ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos landed President Biden's first interview since his disastrous debate performance, putting a spotlight on the longtime host's partisan past and recent on-air editorials.

Stephanopoulos’ ties to Democrats run deep; he rose to political prominence decades ago as a top aide in Bill Clinton’s White House. 

In 1994, a New Republic feature headlined, "The Kids Are Alright: Well, sort of. In Praise of the Stephanopoulites," detailed Stephanopoulos’ close friendship with Ron Klain, who went on to be a longtime ally of Biden's.

His relationship with the Clintons became a sore spot during the 2016 presidential cycle, when Stephanopoulos was caught giving money to the Clinton Foundation and had to recuse himself from hosting primary debates.

Stephanopoulos joined ABC after resigning from the Clinton White House shortly after the president's 1996 re-election. He swiftly rose through the ranks as an analyst and correspondent and now hosts "This Week" and "Good Morning America."

In 2018, Stephanpoulous' high-profile interview with former FBI Director James Comey, the first interview Comey gave since his abrupt firing by then-President Trump a year earlier, was heavily criticized for a massive editing job. The full transcript released by ABC News revealed it chose not to air several key moments during its Sunday night special, such as when Comey ripped former President Barack Obama. 

In 2020, Stephanopoulos failed to ask then-candidate Biden about his son Hunter’s scandalous laptop during an ABC town hall in the days leading up to the presidential election.

Earlier that year, Stephanopoulos was caught on camera making a throat-slash gesture as ABC cut away from then-President Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow taking questions from the press during coverage of Trump’s first Senate impeachment trial.

During the 2024 election cycle, Stephanopoulos ratcheted up his hostility towards Trump, sparring with several Republicans for vowing to support their party's presumptive nominee. 

Trump is currently suing Stephanopoulos for defamation after he said several times on air that the former president was "found liable for rape" when Trump was actually found civilly liable for sexual abuse in the Carroll case. ABC has stood by Stephanopoulos.