Joe Biden turns down Super Bowl interview as he seeks 2024 reelection

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is ramping up his reelection campaign in the wake of his South Carolina primary victory, but that doesn't include a televised interview on Super Bowl Sunday.

CBS News confirmed Saturday that Biden has declined an invitation to be interviewed during the Super Bowl pre-game show, an opportunity that former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump seized during their reelection campaign years.

“We hope viewers enjoy watching what they tuned in for - the game,” White House spokesman Ben LaBolt told Variety, which first reported the story.

The Super Bowl is next Sunday, Feb. 11.

But this year doesn't mark the first time Biden declined to participate in the event, which can garner a massive, nationwide audience. The incumbent president also turned down a Super Bowl interview last year, when Fox televised the event.

Biden has participated in the Super Bowl interview tradition twice, years in which NBC and CBS televised festivities.

The president clinched a quick victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday, notching another win on his path to officially becoming the 2024 Democratic nominee and potentially facing a rematch against Trump in the general election.