David Axelrod Calls Biden Skipping Final Super Bowl Interview ‘Bewildering’ – ‘Trump Is All Over It’

Veteran Democratic strategist David Axelrod criticized former President Joe Biden for missing out on an opportunity to reach millions of people when he skipped last year’s traditional pre-Super Bowl presidential interview.

By contrast, Axelrod said on Sunday, President Donald Trump took full advantage of his chance to reach an “unparalleled audience.”

More than 100 million Americans routinely tune in for the annual game while presidents in recent decades have given a reporter a few minutes of their time.

Trump gave that time to Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Super Bowl Sunday during an interview when the duo talked sports, annexing Canada, and government waste.

Axelrod reacted to the interview by dinging Biden for skipping out on a chance to reach potential voters last February.

“A year ago, Biden refused the traditional Super Bowl interview and the unparalleled audience it would have yielded,” the CNN contributor wrote on X. “That bewildering decision was a major sign of trouble. Trump is all over it today.”

As NBC News noted, Biden declined interviews on Super Bowl Sunday in 2023 and 2024.

A person NBC described as a “veteran Democratic campaign operative” said those close to the then-president were concerned he might say or do something to harm him politically.

“Either he doesn’t have anything to say or his team is worried about what he might say or how he’d say it,” the person said.

The official White House line on the matter was that Biden and his team felt Americans did not want to see the president and wished to enjoy the game.

Trump hit his White House predecessor last week when he said he would sit down for an interview.

“It’s nice to once again have a president that shows up to the prayer breakfast,” he said, “and that agrees to be interviewed for the Super Bowl. I’m doing that, too.”

“They ask a question, and you give them an answer,” Trump added. “It’s not that hard.”