The Milwaukee radio station that agreed to take questions from the Biden campaign before its interview with the president admitted on Thursday that it edited parts of the interview before it aired—at the campaign’s request.
Civic Media said it found out on Monday that parts of the interview were edited, saying in a statement that producers agreed to remove two parts of the interview that they viewed as “non-substantive.” The interview with host Earl Ingram was taped on July 3 and aired on July 4, with the parts removed.
The news was first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. When reached by phone briefly on Thursday, Ingram promised The Daily Beast a call back, but he then ignored further follow-ups.
The portions of the interview that were cut included Biden’s claim that he has “more Blacks in my administration than any other president, all other presidents combined, and in major positions, cabinet positions.” Biden also appeared to give a rambling answer when asked about Trump’s call for the death penalty for the Central Park Five. “I don’t know if they even call for their hanging or not, but he–but they said […] convicted of murder,” Biden said in a deleted bit.
The radio network apologized for the cuts, acknowledging they fell short of “journalistic interview standards” and that it disagreed with how the team handled the campaign’s request. Still, it said it stood by Ingram and his team, who it lauded as an “invaluable” voice for the city.
“The decision to make the requested edits to the interview was made in good faith. While we disagree with the decision, we stand by our team,” the statement read. “This has been a learning experience and we will do better moving forward.”
Ingram admitted to news outlets last week that he took questions from the Biden campaign and did not get to ask everything he wanted. It came after the Biden campaign offered questions to WURD host Andrea Lawful-Sanders, who also accepted the pre-approved questions for her pre-taped interview last week. WURD cut ties with Lawful-Sanders on Sunday.
A Biden campaign spokesperson told The Daily Beast that “hosts have always been free to ask the questions and air the segments they think will best inform their listeners.”
