For a second year running Joe Biden has turned down an offer to speak ahead of the Super Bowl, with the White House offering a blunt response to the NFL’s request.
Joe Biden Skips Super Bowl…. Again
The president has a twice now been offered a segment to speak during the Super Bowl pregame buildup and for a second consecutive year Joe Biden has elected to play no part.
When asked for a response to the request, a White House spokesperson said “We hope viewers enjoy watching what they tuned in for—the game.”
The idea of the traditional presidential speech ahead of the Super Bowl is to present a more sociable image of the president, giving them an opportunity to address the world in what is anticipated to be one of the most viewed sporting events of all time.
Not all presidents choose to take part in the speech each year, with recent elects such as Donald Trump and Joe Biden deciding to skip the traditional speech in recent campaigns.
The first presidential speech ahead of a Super Bowl came in 2004, as George W. Bush appeared on CBS from the White House for what was a lighthearted chat about the upcoming New England Patriots vs Carolina Panthers game.
Bush never did a second interview though, electing to sit out during his next term with the tradition really beginning with Barack Obama in 2009.
Obama interviewed in every year he was in charge at the White House, with the conversation moving more towards political topics from 2014 onwards.
Donald Trump conducted an interview during his first term in charge as president of the US and he even picked the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl who went on to beat the Falcons.
Recent years have seen presidents mainly electing to stay away from the Super Bowl interview
Super Bowl LVIII Info
📅 Time/Date: 3:30pm PST (Sunday, 11 February 2024)
🏟️ Venue: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
📺 TV: CBS
🎲 Odds: San Francisco 49ers -120 | Kansas City Chiefs +100
Past Super Bowl Winners
- Super Bowl LVII (2023) – Kansas City Chiefs
- Super Bowl LVI (2022) – Los Angeles Rams
- Super Bowl LV (2021) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Super Bowl LIV (2020) – Kansas City Chiefs
- Super Bowl LIII (2019) – New England Patriots
- Super Bowl LII (2018) – Philadelphia Eagles
- Super Bowl LI (2017) – New England Patriots
- Super Bowl 50 (2016) – Denver Broncos
- Super Bowl XLIX (2015) – New England Patriots
- Super Bowl XLVIII (2014) – Seattle Seahawks
