President Biden will buck a long tradition of commander in chief sitting down for a pre-Super Bowl interview Sunday, the White House announced Friday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blamed Fox, the network carrying this year’s National Football League title game, for canceling the interview.
“The president was looking forward to an interview with Fox Soul to discuss the Super Bowl, the State of the Union and critical issues impacting the everyday lives of Black Americans,” Ms. Jean-Pierre posted on Twitter. “We’ve been informed that Fox Corp. has asked for the interview to be canceled.”
Networks carrying the Super Bowl have traditionally scored interviews with presidents that air ahead of the game. Those interviews are regularly taped on the Friday before the Sunday kickoff.
Mr. Biden recorded pre-Super Bowl interviews with CBS and NBC in his first two years in office.
The president has maintained an icy relationship with Fox, declining to sit down with its Fox News Channel anchors.
The White House tried to set up the Super Bowl interview with Fox Soul, the live-streaming platform that caters to Black viewers, instead of sitting down with Fox News.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Tuesday said the network requested an interview but didn’t receive a response.
Mr. Biden conducted two other televised interviews this week with PBS NewsHour and Telemundo during his trips to Wisconsin and Florida.
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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