The Milwaukee radio host apologized on Friday for acceding to the Biden campaign’s request that he make corrections to a taped interview he had with the president earlier this month.
In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett that will air on “Laura Coates Live,” WAUK-AM anchor Earl Ingram said he would say “absolutely no” to the campaign if he had it to do over again.
When asked if he felt pressured by the campaign, he described being flattered to be given “the chance to interview the most powerful man in the world”.
Ingram told CNN he used four of the five campaign-supplied questions, but could not say whether he asked them word for word. He said the questions were mostly about the black community.
Civic Media, the Wisconsin-based radio network that carries Ingram’s show, released edited clips and the full, unedited interview Thursday. A Biden campaign spokeswoman acknowledged asking the station to redact the interview.
Edited clips include Biden saying: “…and I have more blacks in my administration than any other president, all other presidents and key positions, cabinet positions.”
Also deleted was a reference to former President Donald Trump calling for the death penalty for the so-called Central Park Five. “I don’t know whether they will be hanged or not, but he–but they said […] Guilty of murder,” Biden said.
Noting that the station has put things in place to prevent a similar situation going forward, Ingram said Friday that he doesn’t understand how what Biden said could be “so appalling as it is today.”
Asked if he was offended by Biden’s comments, the radio host insisted the president was working to address differences between black and white Americans.
“President Biden, even with those hypocrisies, is a guy who’s going to try and do something about those problems,” he continued. “So, no, those things don’t annoy me or upset me, or I think most black people.”
