by President Biden will not participate in the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.
CBS said Saturday that the White House had declined a request for Biden to participate in a televised interview with its news division, which would have aired in prime time before the big game on Feb. 11.
Following a tradition that dates back to 2009, presidents have recorded an interview with the network that broadcasts the Super Bowl, although there have been exceptions. Donald J. Trump did not appear on NBC in 2018. Last year, Biden refused to appear on Fox, home to cable hosts like Sean Hannity, who are markedly hostile toward him.
But the White House has been receptive to CBS News in the past. The president was interviewed by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell before the 2021 Super Bowl, and participated in two extensive “60 Minutes” articles, in 2022 and 2023, with correspondent Scott Pelley.
“We hope viewers enjoy watching what they tuned in for: the game,” Ben LaBolt, White House communications director, said in a statement Saturday.
The Super Bowl, typically the most-watched television broadcast of the year, offers an unusually large audience for a sitting president to address current events and advance his agenda to the public.
And there is plenty of news for Biden to comment on. Starting Friday, the United States carried out military strikes in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Three American soldiers were killed last Sunday in Jordan. The government just released a positive employment report. And Biden is ramping up his re-election campaign as Trump moves closer to clinching the Republican nomination.
In 2021, Biden’s pregame interview with O’Donnell was watched live by around 10.2 million viewers; Millions more watched clips that aired on other CBS shows in the days surrounding the game.
For this year’s event, CBS offered the White House about 15 minutes for an interview with Biden, with three or four minutes broadcast live during the network’s pregame coverage, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Biden has conducted fewer media interviews than his most recent predecessors. The president’s last interview on a major network took place in October, with CBS’s Pelley. His State of the Union address is scheduled for March 7.
Katie Rogers contributed reporting from Washington.
