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Stefan Tonev
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US President Biden’s Super Bowl interview appears off
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The White House and Fox Corp. had ping ponged statements all day over the potential interview

US President Joe Biden’s planned interview ahead of the Super Bowl appears scuttled after Fox Corp. aggressively volleyed with the White House over an agreement to have the president sit down with Fox Soul, an obscure streaming service operated by a subsidiary.

Fox News originally appeared in line to land an interview with Biden out of a tradition between presidents and the network hosting the Super Bowl.

But brinkmanship between the president’s team and the media giant stretched for days and then hours heading into the weekend of the big game.

By not sitting down for an interview with Fox News before the Super Bowl on Sunday, Biden is breaking with a tradition in which presidents have used the event to speak to a large television audience.

“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,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a tweet.

“We’ve been informed that Fox Corp. has asked for the interview to be cancelled.”

Fox Soul was created in 2020, and it’s geared toward Black viewers. Hours later, a Fox Corp. spokesperson released a contradictory statement.

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

The spokesperson added that the interviewers — Vivica A. Fox, the actress and host of “Cocktails with Queens,” and sportscaster Mike Hill — had arrived in Washington after flying in from the Los Angeles. But the White House statement later Friday added another twist.

“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,” the statement said. “Fox has since put out a statement indicating the interview was rescheduled, which is inaccurate.”

In 2021, Biden spoke to CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell prior to the game, and last year he spoke with NBC News’ Lester Holt.