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Louise Thomas

Editor

Donald Trump has branded the ABC News host George Stephanopoulos as the “meanest” and “most vicious” interviewer in a Truth Social tirade ahead of Joe Biden’s make-or-break interview on Friday evening.

The president is due to sit down with the news anchor in Madison, Wisconsin, with the pre-recorded interview being broadcast in full at 8pm ET as a prime-time special, with a preview teased on World News Tonight at 6.30pm.

The full interview was initially meant to be aired on This Week on Sunday evening before ABC News pushed forward the program as pressure mounts for Biden to prove he’s fit for office.

The high-stakes interview is predicted to be the president’s last-ditch attempt to claw back support with both his divided Democrat camp – three of whom have called for him to stand aside – and the public following last week’s debate disaster against Donald Trump.

Less than 24 hours before Biden’s interview, the former Republican president placed ABC and Stephanopoulos in his cross hairs in an attempt to seemingly discredit the broadcaster and its star anchor.

“The meanest and most vicious Interviewer out there is George Slopadopoulos of FAKE NEWS ABC, one of the worst and most vile Broadcasters in the business,” he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday evening.

Trump is embroiled in a legal battle with the news outlet after filing a defamation lawsuit against ABC News and Stephanopoulos in May over an interview in which the host referred to the sexual assault of E Jean Carroll as “rape.”

“Now ABC, and Liddle’ George, a tiny, angry man, can make up for their past indiscretions and journalistic failures by doing a real interview with Crooked Joe, not a cut up promotion with only his few coherent answers released to the public,” he continued.

Question marks over Biden’s age and mental fitness have been hurled back into the spotlight after he left the CNN stage in Atlanta, Georgia, last Thursday, who at points struggled to string together a coherent sentence.

The president himself admitted that he “didn’t have his best night,” he told supporters alongside the first lady at a campaign rally on Tuesday.

Sources close to Biden told the Politico Playbook newsletter that the president is “preparing for tough questions” in Friday’s interview and is determined to present himself as sharp, alert and able to deal with questions.

Some Democrats are concerned, however, that even if Biden appears sharp-witted it’s too little too late, as Rep Debbie Dingell told MSNBC on Thursday that “one interview tomorrow is not going to fix this.”

Biden, on the surface, remains stoic and has doubled down that he’s “not going anywhere,” he told military families gathered to watch July 4 fireworks at the White House.

Just 45 minutes after Trump’s fiery note online, he returned to the keyboard with a proposition for the president: a second “no holds barred” debate.

The pair are already set to meet again for their second pre-planned televised debate on ABC in September – which Biden has firmly committed to.

“I have the answer to the Crooked Joe Biden Incompetence Puzzle – Let’s do another Debate, but this time, no holds barred,” the ex-president posted on Truth Social with his trademark sporadic use of capital letters.

“An all-on discussion, with just the two of us on stage, talking about the future of our Country,” he added.

The proposed Trump-Biden showdown would be unmoderated – unlike the CNN debate that had hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash at the helm. The stripped-back rules would see two political rivals sparring without intrusion.

“It would also, under great pressure, prove his ‘competence,’ or lack thereof,” Trump said, taking a last swipe at Biden’s poor debate performance.

The president has not responded to his Republican rival’s calls for a debate.

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