Radio Host Resigns After Admitting Campaign Aides Gave Her Approved Questions For Biden

Philadelphia’s radio station WURD announced the resignation of Andrea Lawful-Sanders, host of The Source. Lawful-Sanders admitted that her post-debate interview with President Joe Biden included questions pre-selected by Biden’s campaign team, which the station stated compromised its journalistic integrity.

“The interview featured pre-determined questions provided by the White House, which violates our practice of remaining an independent media outlet accountable to our listeners,” said Sara Lomax, president and CEO of WURD. “As a result, Ms. Lawful-Sanders and WURD radio have mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately.”

Lawful-Sanders interviewed Biden last week, asking him four questions regarding the upcoming election, his achievements, his debate performance and his message to concerned listeners.

These questions, seen as softballs, marked Biden’s first interview with a journalist since his lackluster debate performance nearly two weeks ago.

Many listeners tuned in to hear Biden’s responses to questions about the debate but found that the interview did not fully address their concerns.

In an interview with CNN’s Victor Blackwell on Saturday, Lawful-Sanders admitted that the questions were among eight provided by Biden’s aides prior to the interview.

“The questions were sent to me for approval,” Lawful-Sanders said, “I approved them.”

WURD, Pennsylvania’s only black-owned radio station, prides itself on being an independent, trustworthy voice for its primarily black audience. Lomax emphasized that using pre-approved questions “jeopardizes that trust and is not a practice that WURD Radio engages in or endorses as a matter of practice of official policy.”

Lomax added, “WURD Radio is not a mouthpiece for the Biden or any other Administration,” clarifying that Lawful-Sanders independently arranged the questions.

In a brief Instagram video posted on Sunday, Lawful-Sanders announced she had resigned on Saturday, saying, “It was accepted. I sincerely wanted to thank the listening audience.”

While it’s common for political communications staff to suggest topics for media appearances, Lawful-Sanders’ use of pre-screened questions has drawn criticism.

This adds to the ongoing concerns about Biden’s mental acuity following his weak debate performance, which has frustrated many top Democrats and fueled discussions about whether he should accept the party’s nomination.

“If the White House is trying to prove the vim, vigor… of the president, I don’t know how they do that by sending questions first before the interview so that the president knows what’s coming,” said Blackwell on Saturday.

Earl Ingram, host of The Earl Ingram Show on WAUK in Waukesha, Wisconsin, also interviewed Biden last week and noted that he had received a list of prepared questions. The questions and answers in both interviews were remarkedly similar.

In response, Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt stated, “It’s not all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer. These questions were relevant to the news of the day – the president was asked about his debate performance as well as what he’d delivered for black Americans.”

A Biden campaign spokesperson did not deny providing questions, but clarified, “We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions,” and assured that no suggestions would be made for future interviews.