Fox News' Sean Hannity to interview President Trump before the Super Bowl
John Bisognano, The Palm Beach Post
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla, — Fox News host Sean Hannity will interview President Donald Trump in a piece to air just before next Sunday's Super Bowl.
Trump expects to be in Palm Beach County next weekend, where he stays at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Palm Beach. He normally hosts a Super Bowl party on the day of the game at his Trump International Golf Club in suburban West Palm Beach.
The interview is expected to be taped while Trump is in the White House, according to SI.com.
While Trump and Hannity retain a close relationship, it is not unusual for a president to be interviewed before the Super Bowl. And this year the Super Bowl, to be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, home of the Miami Dolphins, will be broadcast by Fox. According to The Hill, the network that carries the Super Bowl traditionally airs interviews with the sitting president. Rights to the game work on a rotating basis between CBS, NBC and Fox.
Hannity told Variety that he intends to ask Trump about the Senate impeachment trial, the state of the U.S. economy and the Trump-ordered killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
The game, between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, begins at 6:30 p.m. The interview will be part of Fox's pregame show and will air at around 3:30 p.m.
According to SI.com, Trump held a pre-Super Bowl interview in 2017 with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, who left the network that April following allegations of sexual harassment. In 2018, Trump did not sit down for a pre-Super Bowl interview, declining NBC's open invitation. Last year, he sat down with CBS. President Barack Obama did a pre-Super Bowl interview during each of the eight years he was in the White House.
Trump is expected in Palm Beach County next week because the Federal Aviation Administration last week issued an advisory for pilots cautioning that flight restrictions will be in effect in the county from Friday, Jan. 31, to Sunday, Feb. 2. The early FAA advisories have become the first sign of when Palm Beach County residents can expect the president to visit here.
Will Trump be at the Super Bowl?
While there may be speculation that Trump may go to the Super Bowl — partly because it's being played only 58 miles south and partly because his fellow Palm Beacher, Stephen Ross, owns both Hard Rock Stadium as well as the Miami Dolphins — it's most likely a logistics nightmare as far as security is concerned.
What's more likely is that Trump may attend, or at least stop by, the Trumpettes annual party at Trump's Mar-a-Lago the night before the game.
The Trumpettes USA Inc. has scheduled its third annual bash at Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 1 — Super Bowl Eve.
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Trumpettes USA founder Toni Holt Kramer has not confirmed to The Palm Beach Post that Trump would stop by her organization's event. Trump did not travel to Mar-a-Lago on the weekend of the inaugural Trumpettes gala in 2018 because of a federal government shutdown. He was not at Mar-a-Lago the weekend of the Trumpettes party last year, although he sent a video address that was played at the start of the evening.
The Trumpettes event is arguably now the biggest at Mar-a-Lago during Palm Beach's social season, drawing 700 guests, the maximum allowed by the fire marshal. It also represents a shift in clientele at the club, once the most sought after venue for high-society, philanthropic galas.
During Trump's visit last year at this time, on that Saturday, the president golfed with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods at Trump's Jupiter club — even tweeting a photo with the two legends. He subsequently disclosed in a follow-up tweet that Woods shot a 64, and Nicklaus' "putting is amazing."
"Jack & Tiger really like each other," the president added. Nicklaus, a big fan of Trump who turned 80 last week, is a longtime North Palm Beach resident, while Woods lives in Jupiter Island.
Follow John Bisognano on Twitter: @jbisognano.