The Questions Our President Must Now Answer

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This evening, President Biden will sit down for his first interview since the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. It will be his second interview since his disastrous debate performance, but arguably, this interview with NBC’s Lester Holt is maybe the most important of Biden’s presidency—and an opportunity for Holt to make not just news, but history. 

As a reporter and producer, I have crafted high-stakes interview questions for journalists, including at The New York Times, where I co-created The Daily podcast; at The Free Press; and for my own show, Reflector. If I were writing questions for Holt, here’s what I’d advise him to ask Biden: 

1. Both you and President Trump have continually attacked one another personally and made sweeping claims about the dangers that will befall our country if you lose this election. You have said repeatedly that Trump is a dangerous man who will use his power to “systematically dismantle and destroy our democracy.” In light of the attempt on President Trump’s life, will you pledge today to tone down your rhetoric? Or do you stand by your words?

2. You ran in 2020 with a pledge to unite the country, but under your leadership the country has continued to see increasing political polarization. You have repeatedly called some of your opponent’s supporters “MAGA-extremists” and said that “MAGA forces are trying to move the country backwards” and take away the rights of citizens, including the right to vote. Do you think these claims have helped further divide the country you pledged to unite? 

3. Many members of the Democratic party regularly liken President Trump to a dictator, saying he poses an existential threat to the country. What would you like to say to members of your party tonight?

4. In 2022 a man was caught by the FBI attempting to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He planned on killing several other conservative members of the Supreme Court. You have spent the last several years repeatedly attacking the judicial branch and their rulings, using increasingly sharp rhetoric and strongly implying the court is a danger to the country. Do you think this contributes to the problem of Americans seeing their fellow countrymen less like political opponents and more like their mortal enemies?

5. In recent weeks many in the country and several even within your own party have had questions about your mental acuity and ability to do this job for the remainder of your term, let alone for four-and-a-half more years. And yet you’ve refused to take a mental fitness exam. Why not get the exam if you are not worried about what it would reveal?

And, to my mind, the most important question of the night:

6. You’ve said that your campaign is not about you but democracy. But almost all national polls conducted over the past year show that a vast majority of American people do not want you as the next president. They believe you are no longer fit to do this job. How can you claim to be running to defend democracy while at the same time, knowing you are running despite the will of the people?

Andy Mills is a reporter and host of Reflector, a documentary show. He is formerly of The New York Times, where he co-created The Daily podcast.