Joe Biden first post-election interview: When to watch and what to expect from his conversation with Lester Holt
While most thought that the election season will be over on November 3, after months of, sometimes heated, discussions and debates, it was far from over. On November 7, news outlets including AP had declared Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as president-elect and vice-president-elect respectively. However, President Donald Trump has still not conceded and he and his team continue their legal battle in an attempt to challenge the outcome.
Meanwhile, Biden has been steadily moving forward and announcing some of his picks for his team. According to the latest news, as reported by Variety, the president-elect is all set for his first interview since the 2020 presidential election with NBC News’ Lester Holt. Here are the details.
When is the interview?
The full interview will air during ‘NBC Nightly News’ at 6:30 pm ET on Tuesday, November 24.
Where to watch?
The interview was filmed in Wilmington, Delaware and will air on NBC. As per Variety, on Wednesday, November 25, additional portions will be featured on ‘Today’, ‘Nightly News’ and MSNBC. The interview will also be available for viewing on NBC News’ website and NBC News NOW after it is broadcast on November 24.
What to expect?
The most important topic, which is also a global issue, is how will Biden and his team handle the coronavirus crisis in the US. As per Johns Hopkins data, the Covid-19 cases in US has crossed 12 million and the number of deaths are more than 250,000. So, viewers can expect Holt to grill Biden about the same. Also, the economy is another important topic that may be discussed during the interview. Apart from these topics, it can be expected that Trump and his continuing allegations of ‘voter fraud’ and lawsuits will also be discussed.
On the other hand, good news for the Biden team came on November 23, in a letter sent by Administrator Emily Murphy, the General Services Administration has informed president-elect Biden that the Trump administration is ready to start the formal transition process. This marks the first step for the administration to recognize POTUS’ defeat in the elections, even though he continues to pursue the legal route to challenge the outcome.
"Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts," Murphy wrote. "I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official — including those who work at the White House or GSA — with regard to the substance or timing of my decision. To be clear, I did not receive any direction to delay my determination." This marks Murphy's formal sign off on Biden's victory, a process known as ascertainment. This will allow the transition to officially begin, allowing current administration agency officials to coordinate with the incoming Biden team and providing millions in government funding for the transition.
The delay in ascertainment meant that Biden's team could not access government data and could not make contact with federal agencies, nor could it spend $6.3 million in government funding now available for the transition.
Meanwhile, Trump tweeted, “I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country. She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA. Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”
...fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 23, 2020