Less than three days before Super Bowl LVII and the White House has still yet to confirm whether President Joe Biden will be making an appearance for a ‘traditional’ pre-game interview with Fox, the network hosting this year’s edition of the United States’ most-watched sports events.
According to people familiar with the matter, Fox is already assuming that the interview will not take place. Skipping the interview, which has been a customary part of the Super Bowl broadcast, would mean skipping out on one of the country’s biggest TV audiences.
In 2022, 99.18 million watched the event in the US. The Big Game aired on NBC last year and Biden sat down with Lester Holt for the pre-game interview. The year before, he sat with Norah O’Donnell on CBS.
A report by Variety says that the right-wing network had been planning to give the interview job to one of its news correspondents — a big change as it’s typically assigned this task to one of its opinion hosts: Bill O’Reilly interviewed Obama in 2011 and 2014, as well as Donald Trump in 2017, while Sean Hannity was assigned to Trump in 2020.
“Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream and Fox News anchor Bret Baier are reportedly the top contenders for Sunday’s assignment.
UPDATE
The White House, via @PressSec on Twitter, has indicated that the interview will not be proceeding, with Fox Corp specifically requesting that the tradition not continue by requesting that the interview be cancelled. The White House indicated that Biden had planned on discussing the Super Bowl, the State of the Union, and “critical issuers impacting the everyday lives of Black Americans.
Information for this story was found via Variety, CNN, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
