(Washington) President Joe Biden will finally not give an interview on Sunday to a chain of the Fox group before the Super Bowl final, announced a Fox employee, thus offering yet another twist to this story.
“Our Fox team flew from Los Angeles to Washington to perform the interview but we learned tonight [vendredi] that the [Maison-Blanche] would not participate,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Karine Jean-Pierre, spokesperson for Joe Biden, said on Friday that Fox Corporation, a branch of the conservative media empire of Australian-American magnate Rupert Murdoch, had requested that this interview for Fox Soul – channel intended for an African audience -American – or “cancelled”.
She said on Twitter that the 80-year-old Democratic president “looks forward” to speaking “about the Super Bowl, his ‘State of the Union address,’ and important topics about everyday life for African Americans. “.
After which, Fox explained that there was actually “a bit of confusion when the White House contacted Fox Soul on Thursday night.”
“Fox Soul is looking forward to speaking with the President for the Super Bowl on Sunday,” the band said in a statement, hinting that the interview would take place.
New twist late Friday evening in a press release from the executive, mentioned by the daily New York Times : The White House issued a press release explaining that it had organized “an interview of the president with the presenters of Fox Sports Mike Hill and Vivica A. Fox before the Super Bowl but Fox Corporation canceled the interview”.
“Fox has since released a statement indicating that the interview has been rescheduled, which is incorrect,” the White House said.
The final of the American football championship, the highest television audience of the year in the United States – a hundred million viewers in 2022 – is traditionally preceded by an interview with the president on the channel which broadcasts it.
This year, Fox will show the meeting between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The best-known of the Fox group’s channels is Fox News, an all-news channel with a distinctly conservative lineup, whose commentators and guests regularly target Joe Biden.
Speculation was therefore rife in recent days on the holding of the interview. Mr Biden has spoken for the previous two years on NBC and CBS respectively.