Bloomberg’s senior Washington correspondent said that President Joe Biden’s choice to decline a CBS News interview on Super Bowl Sunday is a “telling sign” of what could ahead.
In Las Vegas, a reporter asked Biden what he had to say to former President Donald Trump, who had challenged him to a debate “immediately.”
Biden claimed that Trump has “nothing else” to do.
“What’s interesting, though, is that President Joe Biden said no to the traditional 60 Minutes interview before the Super Bowl,” Mohsin said. “And to me, him saying no to something that he’s expected to do, a serious interview, he can really get his message out to an audience, just sitting, waiting for him, waiting for his message, is telling. Is it because he can’t handle it?”
Biden has declined an interview with CBS News that was scheduled to air during the Super Bowl. The NFL’s biggest game is likely to attract millions of viewers.
Needless to say, it is exceptionally odd for a first-term president seeking re-election skipping the opportunity to deliver his message to such a massive audience.
“And he just did the interview with Scott Pelley less than a year ago for ’60 Minutes.’ Do you have any sense of why no on this one at such a crucial moment?” CNN’s Poppy Harlow asked.
“I have no idea. I mean, just look at that clip we just saw. If he is not able to follow the questions, if his staff is worried that he can connect the dots and find the word that he’s looking for, that’s a problem,” Mohsin said.
As reported by the Daily Caller, “Biden did not sit down with Fox Soul for an interview during the 2023 Super Bowl. White House Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre alleged Fox Soul, which is part of Fox Corporation, canceled the interview.”
A spokesperson for Fox Corp told The Daily Caller that despite some “initial confusion” with the White House, Fox Soul was still eager to conduct the interview.
Former President Barack Obama began conducting pre-taped interviews with the network airing the Super Bowl in 2009, according to Variety. Since 2007, Fox, NBC, and CBS have taken turns airing the Super Bowl.
Biden has hinted that he may not debate Trump, and Democratic Illinois Senator Dick Durbin has warned him against doing so.
“I would think twice about it,” Durbin told The Hill. “I’ve been physically present at one of [Trump’s] debates with Hillary Clinton, and I watched him do outrageous things and say outrageous things. It’s just an opportunity for him to display his extremism.”
It’s another occasion for the American public to ask: “Is it because he can’t handle it?”
