How to watch NBC's Lester Holt's Super Bowl pregame interview with President Joe Biden

How to watch Lester Holt’s Super Bowl pregame interview with President Joe Biden?

Between sips and snacks, of course. It is Super Bowl Sunday, after all.

Which, when you think about it, is kind of a weird time for a presidential interview. But with Biden you take them where you can get them. And this year because it’s broadcasting the Super Bowl matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the LA Rams, NBC’s got him. The interview is expected to take place during the 1 p.m. Arizona time hour as part of the, ahem, five-hour pregame show.

The network is calling it “Super Gold Sunday,” since it’s also broadcasting the Winter Olympics from China. Mike Tirico, who hosted NBC Olympics coverage in China, flew to LA for hosting duties at the Super Bowl from SoFi Stadium, hosts the Olympics primetime show and then will head to Stamford, Connecticut to NBC Sports headquarters for the rest of the Winter Games.

A little marketing goes a long way.

More Super Bowl coverage: 'Amazing.' Before calling Super Bowls, Al Michaels called a world record on ASU's track

Here's where to find Super Bowl kickoff time, viewing information

The pregame show begins at 11 a.m. Arizona time; kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. That’s plenty of time for a lot of stuff, and part of it will be Holt’s interview with Biden.

Holt, the anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” sat down with the president in Virginia for a roughly 20-minute interview on Thursday. Some of it has been shown on the nightly news already and the "Today" show; one of the portions trended on Twitter after Holt asked Biden about inflation and Biden critiqued the questioning.

“Back in July, you said inflation was going to be temporary,” Holt said. “I think a lot of Americans are wondering what your definition of temporary is.”

“Well, you’re being a wise guy with me a little bit,” Biden said. “I understand, that’s your job.”

It is, as a matter of fact, Holt’s job to ask Biden questions. Just like before last year’s Super Bowl it was Norah O’Donnell’s job to ask them, as she is the anchor of “CBS Evening News” and CBS showed the game in 2021.

And the year before that Fox broadcast the game, so Sean Hannity of Fox News interviewed former President Donald Trump.

Now that was different, for all the worst reasons. Certainly, Trump couldn’t characterize Hannity, given his questioning, such as it was, as being “a wise guy.” More like “campaign aide” or “sycophantic helpmate.”

Trump also sat for interviews when CBS had the Super Bowl in 2019 and with Fox News in 2017, but skipped out when NBC aired the game in 2018.

Obama sat for Super Bowl interviews — live, in fact. (Biden’s, like Trump’s, are taped in advance.) Former President George W. Bush kicked off the recent history for this sort of thing, when Jim Nantz interviewed him live before the 2004 game.

The weirdest Super Bowl presidential story involves Richard Nixon

Interesting note: It wasn’t an interview, but maybe the best presidential Super Bowl interaction of all time involves Richard Nixon. It’s long been part of NFL lore that Nixon, a big football fan, called Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula in the days leading up to the team’s Super Bowl game with the Dallas Cowboys in 1972 and suggested a passing play.

The Cowboys won the game 24-3, though the Dolphins would win the next two Super Bowls after that. Nixon resigned in disgrace in 1974. The two things are probably not related.

While watching the president talk about inflation in-between football features while you’re placing prop bets may not sound like must-see TV, it’s simply too good an opportunity for either Biden or NBC to pass up. Pro football is the one proven ratings winner among contemporary TV audiences; NFL games comprised 75 of the top 100-rated shows in 2021.

It’s a great chance to promote Holt, and it’s a great chance for Biden to promote his agenda — a chance well worth taking. As Holt put it in his introduction to the “Nightly News” segment of the interview, Biden is “facing low approval ratings and political headwinds.”

This’ll probably fix things right up. Or not.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

Subscribe to azcentral.com today. What are you waiting for?

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How to watch Joe Biden's interview with Lester Holt before Super Bowl