Biden will sit out a Super Bowl interview for the second year in a row

President Biden is sitting out the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.

CBS said on Saturday that the White House had rejected a request for Mr Biden to participate in a television interview with its news division that would have aired in the highly rated hours leading up to the big game on February 11.

In a tradition dating back to 2009, presidents have recorded an interview with the network that broadcasts the Super Bowl, although there have been exceptions. Donald J. Trump did not appear on NBC in 2018. Last year, Mr. Biden declined to appear on Fox, home to cable hosts like Sean Hannity, who are sharply hostile to him.

But the White House has been receptive to CBS News in the past. The president was interviewed by CBS Evening News host Norah O'Donnell ahead of the 2021 Super Bowl, and participated in two feature-length “60 Minutes” pieces, in 2022 and 2023, with correspondent Scott Pelley.

“We hope viewers enjoy watching what they tuned in to: the game,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt said in a statement Saturday.

The Super Bowl, usually the most watched broadcast of the year, provides an unusually large audience for a sitting president to address current events and promote his agenda to the public.

And there is plenty of news for Mr. Biden to comment on. As of Friday, the United States carried out military strikes in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Last Sunday, three American soldiers were killed in Jordan. The government has just released a positive jobs report. And Mr. Biden is ramping up his re-election campaign as Mr. Trump moves closer to securing the Republican nomination.

In 2021, Mr. Biden's pregame interview with Ms. O'Donnell was seen live by about 10.2 million viewers; millions of viewed clips that aired on other CBS programs in the days surrounding 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 broadcast live during the network's pregame coverage, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

Mr. Biden has conducted 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.