CBS News reports Biden campaign provided a list of approved questions for 2 radio interviews

President Biden's campaign provided lists of approved questions to two radio hosts who did the first interviews with him after his faltering debate performance, both hosts said on Saturday.

Mr. Biden's Thursday appearances on Black radio shows in the critical states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were his first chances to show he could answer questions and discuss his record after a debate in which the 81-year-old repeatedly struggled to complete sentences and press his case against former President Donald Trump.

Radio host Earl Ingram said Saturday that Mr. Biden's aides reached out to him directly for his interview that aired Thursday and sent him a list of four questions in advance, about which there was no negotiation.

"They gave me the exact questions to ask," Ingram, whose "The Earl Ingram Show" is broadcast statewide across 20 Wisconsin outlets, told The Associated Press. "There was no back and forth."

Appearing with Ingram earlier on CNN, Andrea Lawful-Sanders — host of "The Source" on WURD in Philadelphia — said that she had received a list of eight questions, from which she approved four.

When asked about the set list of questions, Ingram — who has been in radio for 15 years and said he doesn't consider himself a journalist — said that the notion of receiving a set list of questions for a guest gave him pause, but also presented a perhaps once-in-a-career opportunity.

"I probably would never have accepted, it but this was an opportunity to talk to the president of the United States," he said.

Policy Change

The New York Times has a similar take minus the quote "They gave me the exact questions to ask," adding an official denial but also an ambiguous statement that one can take either way (third paragraph below).

Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for the Biden campaign, said it was actually campaign aides, not White House officials, who had sent the list of questions. She said it is "not uncommon" for the campaign to share preferred topics, but added that campaign officials "do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions" by the interviewer.