U.S. President Joe Biden will skip the traditional pregame interview with the CBS television network ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl, which is expected to be the most-watched game in American football history.
This is the second year in a row that Biden has declined to be interviewed.
White House officials told reporters earlier this week that the decision was made because Super Bowl viewers wanted to watch football, not the president. White House officials said Saturday that Biden declined the interview because CBS was scheduled to air only a short clip Sunday rather than the full expanded version.
This year’s Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers is expected to break viewership records. Tickets hit an all-time high in the US amid excitement that pop star Taylor Swift could attend to support her boyfriend Travis Kelce, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. This is a promising prospect.
A record 205 million adults in the U.S. plan to watch the Super Bowl this year, according to a study by the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Former President George W. Bush began the Super Bowl interview tradition in 2004 by appearing with CBS’s chief commentator Jim Nantz and asking a series of light-hearted questions, mostly about the game. “I think it’s going to be a very close race, but what do we know? I’m just the president,” Bush said.
Biden has avoided high-profile press conferences this week as his approval rating remains below 40%, with Democratic allies claiming Americans aren’t hearing enough about his accomplishments. The report raises questions about his suitability for a second term in the White House.
A special counsel report written by Republican prosecutor Robert Hur described Biden as an “elderly man with a poor memory,” prompting a rebuke from the president, who said his “memory is fine.” The White House on Friday criticized the report as out of touch with reality, with Vice President Kamala Harris calling it “clearly politically motivated.”
The New York Times editorial board said Biden’s decision to skip the Super Bowl interview is part of a pattern of “more substantive, unscripted interactions with the public and the press than any president in recent memory.” He said it was a department.
Asked about Biden’s decision to skip the Super Bowl, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president would “find many other ways to communicate with millions of Americans.” However, he did not go into details. – Reuters
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