White House says no Biden interview prior to Super Bowl

NEW YORK — President Joe Biden apparently won’t be giving a pregame interview for the Super Bowl, which is being broadcast by Fox on Sunday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that Biden had been “looking forward” to an interview with the little-known streaming service Fox Soul, but that Fox opted out. Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A presidential interview during the Super Bowl pregame show has become something of a tradition over the past two decades, usually conducted by the news division of the network broadcasting the game.

In 2021, Biden spoke to CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell prior to the game, and last year spoke with NBC News’ Lester Holt.

There was some question what would happen with Fox, whose opinion hosts consistently hammer Biden on the air. Fox News opinion hosts have conducted past presidential interviews: Bill O’Reilly questioned Barack Obama in 2011 and 2014, and Donald Trump in 2017. Sean Hannity interviewed Trump in 2020.

It was not immediately clear who would have been in line to speak to Biden, and how Fox Soul entered the picture.