In this photo, Cronkite, Bob Schieffer, and Eric Sevareid sat down with President Ford for an hour-long interview airing live on CBS on April 21, 1975.
At the time CBS requested the interview in mid-April President Ford had already done interviews with the other two major networks. The President had also personally promised Walter Cronkite an interview during a meeting in February 1975. Rather than being the sole anchor Cronkite was joined by longtime CBS commentator Eric Sevareid and White House correspondent Bob Schieffer.
No restrictive ground rules were set on the topics that the journalists could introduce. Members of the Economic Policy Board, National Security Council, and Domestic Council provided briefing materials on questions that could be posed.
With the recent resignation of South Vietnamese President Thieu in the news, Cronkite and Sevareid began the interview with questions about the situation in Vietnam. Schieffer followed up by asking President Ford about a possible evacuation effort. From there they moved on to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s role in shaping foreign policy, the investigations into CIA activities, and Middle East peace talks. Towards the end of the hour they shifted to domestic concerns about the economy and President Ford’s political prospects for 1976.
Read a transcript of the interview at http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0248/whpr19750421-018.pdf
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