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, and it marks the first Super Bowl interview for Trump since 2022 when Joe Biden spoke with NBC’s Lester Holt. Although Biden did an interview with Norah O’Donnell on CBS in 2021, he declined to participate in 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, initiating a series of presidential Super Bowl interviews. This trend continued 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 known for being fair and balanced, has often had a more contentious relationship with the current president, although Trump’s relationship with Fox News seems to take precedence.
The next three Super Bowls will be hosted by NBC, ABC, and CBS, raising the question of 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, coinciding with the day he was sworn into office. This weekend, Trump will have a significant platform ahead of Super Bowl LIX on Fox.
