Fox Soul to Interview Joe Biden in Pre-Super Bowl Sit-Down Following Confusion
UPDATE (02/10/2023 3:55 p.m.):
President Joe Biden will be sitting down for a pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox Soul on Sunday, February 12, Fox Corp. has confirmed after some hours of confusion.
“After the White House reached out to Fox Soul Thursday evening, there was some initial confusion,” the company said in a statement. “Fox Soul looks forward to interviewing the President for Super Bowl Sunday.”
Fox Soul is a free streaming service and digital network under the Fox Television umbrella. Some of its hosts include Vivica A. Fox and Mike Hill, with whom the White House originally planned to have conduct the interview, per Hollywood Reporter.
Original Story (02/10/2023 1:45 p.m.):
President Joe Biden won’t be doing a pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox Soul. Biden was meant to partake in a pre-game interview ahead of 2023 Super Bowl on Sunday, February 12, but White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced February 10 that Fox Corp. has canceled the interview.
Pre-game interviews with presidents in front of the Super Bowl audiences have been a yearly tradition since 2009, conducted annually by the network hosting the Super Bowl. Biden was originally slated to sit down with Fox Soul for the 2023 interview (he previously gave them in 2022 and 2021).
“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,” Jean-Pierre’s statement said. “We’ve been informed that Fox Corp. has asked for the interview to be cancelled.”
Fox Soul is a digital network part of Fox Television that highlights the lives of Black Americans. Fox News is also part of the television studio, and the controversial network reportedly wanted its top news personalities to run the interview.
“We offered an interview with our top news anchors with no strings attached — they’re walking away from a huge audience and it’s a major missed opportunity,” an unnamed Fox News executive told Variety.
Barack Obama began this Super Bowl tradition in 2009. Donald Trump continued them, although he declined the 2018 interview with NBC News. Fox News hosts have interviewed presidents in the past, but the program typically sends its opinion hosts to handle the interview. This year, they reportedly wanted to send one of its news correspondents to interview the President.
Bill O’Reilly interviewed Obama in 2011 and 2014 and Trump in 2017. Sean Hannity then interviewed Trump in 2020. Shannon Bream, host of Fox News Sunday, and Bret Baier, a longtime anchor for Fox News political events, were reportedly considered for the 2023 interview.
Super Bowl LVII, Sunday, February 12, 6:30/5:30c, Fox
