President Joe Biden’s inability to string together a coherent thought has sparked widespread concerns among voters in both parties that he is simply not capable of performing the duties of the office.
And his decision to skip a traditional pregame Super Bowl interview for a second year in a row is only reinforcing that perception.
But his likely general election rival is stepping up to fill in for the absent incumbent.
'RATINGS GOLD!' President Trump say he would 'be happy' to replace Biden for #SuperBowlLVIII interview
– President Trump has extended an offer to CBS News for an interview before Super Bowl LVIII.
– The network had initially sought an interview with President Biden but… pic.twitter.com/Wakf0GLiKF
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 5, 2024
According to the Daily Wire:
After learning that President Joe Biden had declined the traditional Super Bowl Sunday interview offered by CBS News, former President Donald Trump announced that he would be happy to step in and give an interview in Biden’s place.
Trump shared a post on Truth Social, promising “RATINGS GOLD” if the network would consider giving him the interview slot.
“Crooked Joe Biden has just announced that he will not be doing the big Super Bowl interview. A great decision, he can’t put two sentences together. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO REPLACE HIM — would be ‘RATINGS GOLD!’”
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who is challenging Biden in the Democratic presidential primary, also volunteered.
I’m happy to stand-in for President Biden and do the Super Bowl interview.
I also hold press conferences.
I debate.
I face voters.
I face the press.
And I face the future. https://t.co/YXaTSDau0V
— Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) February 5, 2024
Biden’s decision to bypass the interview has sparked widespread social media mockery.
The country's on fire! Everyone, down to the basement! "White House turns down CBS interview request for a Super Bowl interview with President Biden" https://t.co/mDD6T0v5FH
— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) February 3, 2024
This is an admission by his handlers that
Joe Biden can’t sit down for a softball interview for a football game. https://t.co/KHANtdjjXU— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 3, 2024
Joe Biden is refusing to do a pre-game Super Bowl interview for a second straight year as Biden’s team continues to hide him from virtually all sit down interviews: pic.twitter.com/vCaRX6Tiq1
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) February 5, 2024
And it’s not just conservatives who think it’s a particularly bad sign for the president’s re-election chances.
As CNN reported:
Whether it is an effective political strategy, time will tell. While Biden advisers are more than confident in it, others are more skeptical. Frank Sesno — a former CNN White House correspondent, bureau chief, and current director of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs — argued that it could backfire, noting that while it “keeps him out of harm’s way, it reinforces the narrative that he’s running from a fight.”
“The Super Bowl is super ratings and generally a full-house free pass for a president,” Sesno told me. “The interview is more apple pie than food for thought. So for Biden to take a pass on this (so to speak) will be taken by the over-the-hill crowd as another piece of evidence that he’s not in the game. It’s safer for him — no interview means no gaffes, no viral video of a mangled answer. But it also gives another punchline to the standup comics and the armchair quarterbacks.”
Here’s how Biden reacted after Trump challenged him to a debate:
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