ABC News interview with Biden will now air as a ‘primetime special’ on Friday

The ABC News interview with President Joe Biden will now air “in its entirety as a primetime special” on Friday evening at 8:00 P.M. ET/PT, the network announced Wednesday evening.

The high-profile interview will be the first televised interview the president is expected to participate in since his poor showing at last week’s CNN presidential debate.

The first clip will still air on “World News Tonight” on Friday evening.

Biden will be interviewed by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on the campaign trail earlier in the day and ABC News says a transcript of the unedited interview will also be made available on Friday.

CNN’s MJ Lee reported earlier on Wednesday that the president privately acknowledged the next stretch of days is critical (including the president’s interview with ABC) to whether he can save his reelection bid, making clear to an ally that he understands what would prompt him to accept: “It’s just not working.”

Originally, ABC said it would air parts of Stephanopoulos’ interview with Biden on Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET on “World News Tonight with David Muir.” The extended interview would have aired Sunday on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”

At last week’s debate, Biden struggled to complete sentences at times and often looked lost as former President Donald Trump pumped out falsehoods, urgently raising questions about Biden’s age and ability to serve a second term.

- CNN’s Hadas Gold contributed to this report.

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