White House says Fox statement ‘inaccurate,’ Biden will not do Super Bowl interview

The White House said on Friday night that President Biden will not sit down with Fox for an interview ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday, calling an earlier statement from Fox Corp. “inaccurate.”

“As we said earlier, we had arranged an interview with Fox Sports Host Mike Hill & Vivica A. Fox with the President ahead of the Super Bowl and Fox Corp had the interview cancelled,” a White House spokesperson told The Hill. “FOX has since put out a statement indicating the interview was rescheduled, which is inaccurate.”

The statement is the latest in a public dispute between the White House and Fox over the traditional pregame interview between the president and the network hosting the Super Bowl.

The White House initially accused Fox on Friday morning of canceling Biden’s interview with Fox Soul, a network and streaming service that caters to Black Americans.

“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,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a tweet. “We’ve been informed that Fox Corp has asked for the interview to be cancelled.”

However, Fox claimed that the interview was back on later that day.

“After the White House reached out to FOX Soul Thursday evening, there was some initial confusion,” a Fox Corp. spokesperson said in a statement. “FOX Soul looks forward to interviewing the President for Super Bowl Sunday.”

With the White House’s statement on Friday night, by which point the pregame interview would have typically been recorded, the interview appears to be officially off.

Updated at 9:52 a.m.

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