Trump Skips Super Bowl Game But Plans Exclusive Pregame Interview with News Anchor Tom Llamas
President Donald Trump will sit down for an interview with news anchor Tom Llamas during Super Bowl pregame coverage on Sunday, though he confirmed he will not attend the game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.
The interview, which will be recorded at the White House on Wednesday, is set to air portions of that evening on the news anchor’s program and an extended segment on NBC News Now.
Trump’s participation marks his first sit-down with Tom Llamas since the latter became a news anchor last June.
The tradition of having the sitting president appear in a Super Bowl pregame interview dates back nearly two decades, beginning in 2009 when then-President Barack Obama appeared with NBC News’ Matt Lauer.
Trump last participated in such an interview during the 2025 Super Bowl, when he sat down with Fox News’ Bret Baier. He has skipped interviews for the past two years, declining to participate in both the 2023 and 2024 broadcasts.
During his first term, Trump did not always follow this tradition. In 2018, he declined an interview by NBC News but participated with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly in 2017, CBS News’ Margaret Brennan in 2019, and Fox News’ Sean Hannity in 2020.
Trump noted his absence from the Super Bowl is due to cross-country travel during his busy presidential schedule. “I would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter,” he said.
The interview will be part of an ongoing pattern that has become a regular feature of Super Bowl weekend coverage.
