George Stephanopoulos says he should not have commented on President Joe Biden’s ability to serve a second term

George Stephanopoulos walked back Tuesday night from an errant joke he made to a passerby in New York City in which he said he didn’t think President Joe Biden would be able to serve another term.

“I don’t think he can do another four years,” Stephanopoulos said in the leaked video.

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The exchange was captured by TMZ, and the person who asked a question about Biden’s courage appeared to be working for the news outlet. The person approached Stephanopoulos as he walked, in gym clothes, through the streets of New York.

“Earlier today I answered a question from a passerby. I shouldn’t have done that,” Stephanopoulos said in a statement previously shared with Puck News and TMZ. “George expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News,” Disney’s news unit said in a separate statement.

Stephanopoulos recently got a first-hand look at Biden. The journalist, who co-anchors “This Week” and “Good Morning America” for ABC News, scored the first TV interview with President Biden following his recent debate with former President Donald Trump. During that event, broadcast on CNN, Biden appeared weakened and confused, and his performance generated a massive backlash from Democrats, along with doubts about his fitness to run for the White House in the 2024 presidential election.

Stephanopoulos was persistent throughout the interview, asking Biden if he had taken cognitive tests and how he would feel if he continued to run for the White House but lost the election to Trump.

Stephanopoulos is also a former White House communications adviser, having worked for former President Bill Clinton.

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