Biden will not conduct Super Bowl interview with Fox, White House says

President Biden will not conduct an interview with Fox prior to Super Bowl LVII, the White House said Friday. The confirmation comes following a back-and-forth between the Biden administration and the right-wing news network.

The White House previously said that it had arranged an interview with Biden on Fox Soul, a live-streaming service aimed at African-Americans. White House Press Secretary Karine-Jean Pierre tweeted that Biden was "looking forward to an interview ... to discuss the Super Bowl, the State of the Union, and critical issues impacting the everyday lives of Black Americans."

However, Pierre added, "We've been informed that Fox Corp has asked for the interview to be canceled."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Fox pushed back, saying that the interview had simply been rescheduled. However, Biden administration officials decried this, telling Variety that "Fox has since put out a statement indicating the interview was rescheduled, which is inaccurate."

The news provided an insider's look into an interview that has become somewhat of a tradition for the presidency, including Biden.

"Presidents traditionally grant an interview to the network that's broadcasting the football game — in this case, Fox," The Associated Press noted, adding that Biden "spoke to CBS News anchor Norah O'Donnell prior to the game [in 2021], and last year he spoke with NBC News' Lester Holt."

Pre-Super Bowl interviews were also held multiple times by both former President Barack Obama and former President Donald Trump.

However, amidst ongoing tensions between a Fox News network that has been highly critical of Biden, the White House "attempted to circumvent Fox News by trying to set up an interview with Fox Soul," CNN reported, but negotiations eventually fell apart.

While Fox News has asked Biden for a number of interviews, the president has repeatedly turned the network down.