President Biden is out of the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.
CBS reported on Saturday that the White House had rejected a request for Mr. Biden to participate in a televised interview with his news division that would have aired in prime time before the Feb. 11 big game.
In a tradition dating back to 2009, presidents have taped an interview with the network that broadcasts the Super Bowl, though there have been exceptions. Donald J. Trump did not appear on NBC in 2018. Last year, Mr. Biden refused to appear on Fox, the home of cable hosts such as Sean Hannity who are bitterly hostile to 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 ahead of the 2021 Super Bowl and participated in two major “60 Minutes” segments in 2022 and 2023 with correspondent Scott Pelley.
“We hope viewers enjoy watching what they tuned in for — the game,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt said in a statement Saturday.
The Super Bowl, usually the most-watched television show of the year, provides an unusually large audience for a sitting president to talk about current events and push his agenda to the public.
And there is plenty of news for Mr. Biden to comment on. Since Friday, the United States has carried out military strikes in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Three American soldiers were killed last Sunday in Jordan. The government just released a positive jobs report. And Mr. Biden is ramping up his re-election campaign as Mr. Trump moves closer to capturing the Republican nominee.
In 2021, Mr. Biden’s interview with Ms. O’Donnell before the game was watched live by an estimated 10.2 million viewers. millions more clips aired and aired on other CBS programs in the days following the game.
For this year’s event, CBS offered the White House about 15 minutes for an interview with Mr. Biden, with three to four minutes airing live during the network’s pregame coverage, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Mr. Biden has given fewer media interviews than his most recent predecessors. The president’s last major network interview came in October, with Mr. Pelley of CBS. His State of the Union address is scheduled for March 7.
Katie Rogers contributed reporting from Washington.
