The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon: Joe Biden to make first late-night TV appearance as president

Biden’s segment will mark the first time a sitting US president has appeared on late night TV since 2016

US president Joe Biden will make his first late-night TV appearance since taking office on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which airs tonight (10 December).

Fallon announced the news during Thursday night’s episode of the popular NBC show.

Citing a White House spokesperson, Deadline reported that president Biden will would make a virtual appearance on The Tonight Show. They declined to reveal where the president will be when he tapes the segment.

Friday’s episode will mark the first time a sitting US president has appeared on late night TV since 2016, when former US president Barack Obama did shows with Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel.

Biden previously appeared on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon the same year, while serving as the US vice-president during the Obama administration.

Meanwhile, Obama was also the first US president to make an in-studio appearance on a late-night show when he was interviewed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2009.

However, Obama’s successor Donald Trump steered clear of late-night TV shows during his term as president, between 2016 and 2020.

The 46th president of the US, Biden is currently suffering from a steep drop in the polls and has been under pressure to engage more with the media.

He’s been trying to improve his standing with the public by traveling around the country to promote a $1tn (£756bn) infrastructure law as well as a separate social welfare and climate bill that has stalled in the US Senate.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press