President Joe Biden won’t be participating in a pre-game interview on CBS before the Super Bowl next week, the network confirmed Saturday, marking the second-consecutive year Biden has declined an interview request before the game after a back-and-forth with Fox last year.
Recent presidents have regularly participated in pre-game interviews, which can draw tens of ... [+]
An interview with Biden before the Super Bowl had been discussed between Paramount Global and White House officials in recent weeks, though the offer was recently declined, Variety first reported.
It was not immediately clear whether CBS News had a specific correspondent in mind for the interview.
Biden has granted interviews to a few CBS correspondents since during his presidency, including “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell, “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley, reporter Robert Costa and reporter Ed O’Keefe.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
“We hope viewers enjoy watching what they tuned in for—the game,” White House spokesperson Ben LaBolt told Variety.
Biden isn’t the first sitting president to break away from the traditional Super Bowl interview. Former President Donald Trump refused to speak with NBC in 2018, after a dispute over the network’s coverage of his administration and Trump’s criticism of the NFL allowing players to kneel during the national anthem to protest police violence against Black Americans.
Presidential pre-game interviews before the Super Bowl started with former President George W. Bush, who appeared alongside CBS’ Jim Nantz in 2004. Former President Barack Obama later turned the interview into a regular tradition throughout his two terms after taking office in 2009. The pre-game interviews typically differ in format, including some live and prerecorded interviews that feature a mix of news anchors and morning show hosts. Fox has relied on its lineup of conservative cable show hosts, a decision that resulted in a heated exchange between Obama and former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly in 2014. Last year, Fox Corporation and White House officials accused the other of pulling out of an interview with Biden before the Super Bowl. Fox later announced that Fox Soul—a streaming service tailored to Black audiences—would instead interview Biden, though that interview was later canceled by Fox, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
The Super Bowl is the premier event in American media, drawing well over 100 million viewers in recent years, with tens of millions tuning in for the pre-game show. This year’s game, between the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, is especially hyped due to the expected attendance of pop superstar Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
President Biden Declines Super Bowl Interview For Second Consecutive Year (Variety)
Fox Says Biden’s Traditional Super Bowl Interview Is Back On Despite Confusion—But Not With Fox News (Forbes)