Donald Trump will be interviewed by Fox News’ chief political anchor Bret Baier during the network’s Super Bowl LIX pregame coverage, briefly reinstating what has been a tradition for United States presidents.
Fox News announced the interview Monday morning, stating the sit-down will be recorded at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach and will air Sunday, February 9th in the 3 p.m. ET hour. Additional clips from the interview will air during next Monday’s Special Report with Bret Baier.
This will be Baier’s first interview with Trump since June 2023. It will also be the first time the president has agreed to a Super Bowl interview since 2022, when Joe Biden spoke with NBC’s Lester Holt in 2022. Biden did an interview with Norah O’Donnell on CBS in 2021, but he declined sit-downs with CBS last year and Fox in 2023.
George W. Bush was the first president to take part in a Super Bowl interview, speaking with Jim Nantz on CBS in 2004. Five years later, Barack Obama joined NBC for an interview conducted by Matt Lauer, jumpstarting a string of presidential Super Bowl interviews. The annual spot went uninterrupted until Trump declined an interview with NBC during the Super Bowl in 2018 after accusing the network of “fake news.”
Trump’s previous Super Bowl interviews with Fox were conducted by Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. Baier, who is widely considered one of the more fair and balanced cable news anchors, has often had a more contentious relationship with the current president. Trump’s relationship with Fox News, however, seems to take precedence. The next three Super Bowls will take place on NBC, ABC and CBS, respectively, making it fair to question whether this will be the first and last Super Bowl interview of Trump’s second term in office.
Last month, ESPN aired a message from Trump during the College Football Playoff National Championship game, on the day he was sworn into office. And this weekend, Trump will receive a massive platform ahead of Super Bowl LIX on Fox.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com