Joe Biden rarely gives sit-down interviews, and his solo press conferences are even rarer. His handlers have decided to occasionally invite him to appear on late-night talk shows where the host and audience are friendly and the entire thing can be recorded so that the production team can edit the most embarrassing bits before the segment is broadcast.
Biden’s Monday appearance on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” was a Festival of Fail, but that didn’t prevent his sycophants portraying it as “a win.”
Andrew Bates, White House Deputy press secretary, tweeted out a clip that was staged, “Dark Brandon”, of Biden wearing sunglasses and pointed to the audience’s approval. Joy Behar, co-host of “The View”, declared that the interview was a hit with voters as viewers clapped.
Biden’s late-night talk show was not popular with a key audience:
The appearance of President Joe Biden on Late Night With Seth Meyers was not a ratings success for NBC, especially among younger viewers.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the Monday night interview brought in an average of 852,000 total viewers. Of those viewers, 181,000 were in the 25-54 demographic. The demo viewership dropped by 32 percent compared to last year’s same-day demo. This is in line with the show’s overall demo viewership, which has been declining for the entire year.
The interview was widely criticized by TV and media critics, including Variety’s Daniel D’Addario.
What was the final verdict on the President’s performance on “Late Night”? This is a complex question that’s complicated by our expectations of a generic 81-year-old and the type of politician Biden is. He’s not like the two outsiders who preceded him. He is a creature from Washington and seems to be unimpressed with the entertainment industry. It also means he’s not always been sure how to use it for his benefit, even when times are good. He stayed on message, he responded to a joke (even if it was a bit wooden), and he survived. Does that sound good to someone who is Trump-unfriendly? Well, no. It’s been 10 long years for Biden and all of us.
Here’s a little context about ratings to illustrate how bad Biden did:
Ouch.
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