US President Donald Trump allows a pre-Super Bowl CBS interview
What's the story
The annual championship game for the National Football League or NFL is here. As all Americans tune in to watch the big game, this year brings some special news. US President Donald Trump has agreed to sit for a pre-Super Bowl interview with CBS News. Notably, CBS News made the announcement about the upcoming interview on Monday, January 28. Read all about it here.
Details
CBS outlines the plans for the interview
Margaret Brennan, who is an anchor and known for being the moderator of Face the Nation, would be interviewing the President. As plans stand, she is scheduled to interview Trump on Friday, February 1. Portions of the interview will then be aired on Sunday, February 3, on both her channel as well as the Super Bowl pre-game telecast.
Revival
Trump is reviving a tradition by agreeing to the interview
Trump agreeing for an interview with CBS, despite political differences, is reviving a tradition where the president of the United States grants an interview to the channel hosting the Super Bowl. Notably, in 2011 and 2014, Barack Obama, then-president, sat down with arch critic Bill O'Reilly, a host at Fox News, since Fox happened to be broadcasting the big game.
Do you know?
Trump has earlier snubbed NBC over political differences
Trump has been known to refuse interviews over political differences. Notably, he refused an interview with NBC in 2018, despite them televising the game since he harbored disregard for the channel. On the other hand, he interviewed with O' Reilly during the 2017 Super Bowl.
Opinion
Trump needs interview to reach out to audience
CBS has promised the interview will be 'wide-ranging'. Trump needs this interview to reach out to a wider base than just Fox News viewers, to communicate his political stand. Trump has been hard pressed to put the message across that he did not cave in to Democrats by ending the shutdown, without managing to secure funding for the wall on the US Mexico border.