Biden tapes interview with Conan O’Brien, latest in series of softball celebrity Q&As

President Biden has taped an interview with comedian Conan O’Brien, marking the president’s first sit-down media interview since he appeared on “60 Minutes” in October.

The episode of the podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” recorded Friday, will air at 8 a.m. Dec. 20 on SiriusXM’s Conan O’Brien radio channel at 8 a.m. 

Since taking office, Mr. Biden has skipped appearing on mainstream media programs in favor of more friendly, show-business-style interviews. He has yet to appear on Fox News and last did a CNN town hall in October 2021, but he has appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “The Drew Barrymore Show.”

Those low-risk conversations with supportive celebrities have been a way of creating positive publicity for the president without running into the danger of a major gaffe. Ms. Barrymore, for example, pressed Mr. Biden about whether he was a good gift-giver to his wife, prompting a long conversation about the poems he’s written for her.

Mr. Biden has given fewer interviews to major news organizations than his predecessors despite his promise to restore traditional media relations, which were strained under four years of former President Donald Trump.

Mr. Biden has granted a sit-down interview to one wire service outlet, The Associated Press. He is the first president in decades who has not sat for an interview with The Washington Post or The New York Times. 

So far, Mr. Biden has participated in 74 interviews, the fewest of any president since Ronald Reagan, according to data compiled by presidential scholar Martha Kumar. In comparison, Mr. Trump had granted 273 interviews.