Super Bowl LVIII: Biden declines TV interview for second straight year

President Joe Biden has declined to be interviewed on Super Sunday for the second consecutive year.

>> Read more trending news

CBS, which is televising Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, said that the White House turned down an invitation to participate in a televised interview with its news division, The New York Times reported.

“We hope viewers enjoy watching what they tuned in for -- the game,” Ben LaBolt, the White House communications director, said in a statement on Saturday.

Presidents have recorded interviews with networks since 2009, beginning with Barack Obama, although there have been exceptions, the Times reported. Former President Donald Trump declined to be interviewed by NBC in 2018, according to the newspaper.

In 2023, the White House turned down Fox News’ request for an interview, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The president instead scheduled a chat with Fox Soul to air before Super Bowl LVII.

That interview fell through when Fox Soul’s parent company, Fox Corp., asked for it to be canceled, the entertainment news website reported.

Biden has done Super Bowl interviews with CBS in the past, according to the Times. He was interviewed by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell before Super Bowl LV in 2021.

The president was interviewed by NBC News’ Lester Holt in 2022 before Super Bowl LVI, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Before Obama’s interview in 2009, President George W. Bush participated in a Super Bowl coin toss 2002, the entertainment news website reported. Two years later, he spoke with CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz before the network’s broadcast of Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Biden’s 2021 interview with O’Donnell was seen by approximately 10.2 million viewers, the Times reported.

The president’s last major network interview occurred in October with CBS, according to the newspaper. He will address Congress and the nation in his State of the Union speech on March 7.

© 2024 Cox Media Group