Andrea Lawful-Sanders, a prominent host on WURD radio, has resigned from the Philadelphia-based station following the revelation that her post-debate interview with President Joe Biden included questions pre-selected by Biden’s campaign team. 

Lawful-Sanders Resigns from WURD

Sara Lomax, president and CEO of WURD, announced the resignation in a statement posted on Sunday on the station's website.

“The interview featured pre-determined questions provided by the White House, which violates our practice of remaining an independent media outlet accountable to our listeners. As a result, Ms. Lawful-Sanders and WURD Radio have mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately,” Lomax stated.

WURD is Pennsylvania’s only Black-owned talk radio station, known for its independent and trustworthy voice for Black Philadelphians.

 Lomax emphasized that using pre-determined questions jeopardizes that trust and is not a practice that WURD Radio engages in or endorses. “WURD Radio is not a mouthpiece for the Biden or any other Administration,” she added.

The Interview and Its Aftermath

On her program “The Source,” Lawful-Sanders interviewed Biden, asked the president four questions. She asked about the election's stakes, Biden’s accomplishments, his debate performance, and any message to hesitant voters. 

Both Lawful-Sanders and Earl Ingram, host of “The Earl Ingram Show” in Milwaukee, who also interviewed Biden, asked “essentially the same questions.”

In a Saturday interview with CNN’s Victor Blackwell, Lawful-Sanders admitted the questions were part of eight recommended by Biden aides.

 “The questions were sent to me for approval. I approved them,” she said. This revelation has added to the controversy surrounding Biden's performance in the first presidential debate, hosted by CNN, which has left many top Democrats concerned.

“If the White House is trying now to prove the vim, vigor … of the president, I don’t know how they do that by sending questions first before the interview so that the president knows what’s coming,” Blackwell commented.

Biden Campaign Reacts

A Biden campaign spokesperson did not deny providing the questions, insisting that “We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions. It’s not at all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer.”

Spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement “These questions were relevant to the news of the day — the president was asked about this debate performance as well as what he’d delivered for black Americans.” 

Following the controversy, the Biden campaign announced it will no longer suggest interview questions to hosts.

 “While interview hosts have always been free to ask whatever questions they please, moving forward we will refrain from offering suggested questions,” a source familiar with the Biden booking operation announced.