Thanks to Colin Kaepernick’s silent “taking a knee” protest, the NFL became a politically charged subject on the campaign trail during the 2016 election. Hillary Clinton took the side of liberals who pretended that the protest was somehow patriotic, while Trump wanted “that son of a b—- off the field.”
As was the case with many other issues, the two differed strongly.
The public has appeared to take Trump’s side, however, as the NFL’s ratings continue to dwindle.
So it’s no surprise that Trump isn’t going to be giving the League a ratings boost anytime soon by continuing a football tradition started by George W. Bush over a decade ago. Starting with W., there’s been an annual presidential interview before the Super Bowl, but you won’t be seeing Trump this Sunday.
As TheWildCard reported,
“He is not doing a Super Bowl interview,” an anonymous White House official confirmed.
CNN also cited their sources at NBC, who confirmed that the White House had declined an interview.
NBC will air the Super Bowl on Sunday, in a game pitting the Philadelphia Eagles against the New England Patriots.
The tradition was originated by Bush in 2004. Barack Obama then did one every year of his presidency starting in 2009.
The tradition was carried on by Trump last year.
Clearly, the resurgence of “taking the knee protests” last September, this time as a silent protest of his presidency, have changed the President’s attitude.
His Super Bowl interview last year was granted to Bill O’Reilly, who was still employed at Fox News at the time.
NBC reportedly tried to pitch Trump on the fact that the Super Bowl has traditionally been a ratings juggernaut, and that Trump could reach a massive audience with his pregame interview. Clearly, that pitch failed.
But it’s hard to blame Trump for wanting to avoid an interview with NBC. Even boosted ratings aren’t worth the risk of a reporter like Lester Holt trying to catch him in a “gotcha!” moment.
Trump’s presidency alone has already been a ratings boon for NBC – why would he want to give them anymore?
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