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President Donald Trump is set to take part in an interview with Tom Llamas, with a portion scheduled to air during NBC News’ Super Bowl pregame coverage on Sunday.
Although the president will appear in the interview, he confirmed that he will not attend the championship matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.
The sit-down will be Llamas’ first interview with Trump since he became anchor of “NBC Nightly News” last June. According to NBC, the interview will be recorded on Wednesday at the White House.
Segments of the conversation will air Wednesday night on “Nightly News,” while an extended version will stream at 7 p.m. ET on “Top Story with Tom Llamas” via NBC News Now. NBC said a transcript of the longer interview will be posted online on Wednesday, with a full transcript released after the Super Bowl pregame broadcast.
President Trump’s participation continues a long-standing tradition in which the network televising the Super Bowl secures an interview with the sitting president. The practice began in 2009, when then-President Barack Obama appeared with Matt Lauer shortly after taking office.
President Trump most recently took part in the pregame interview tradition in 2025, sitting down with Bret Baier. Joe Biden declined the opportunity in both 2023 and 2024, when Fox News and CBS News carried the game, respectively.
During President Trump’s first term, he participated in some Super Bowl interviews, including with Bill O’Reilly in 2017, Margaret Brennan in 2019, and Sean Hannity in 2020, but skipped NBC’s request in 2018, according to Newsmax.
President Trump confirmed he will not attend Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, citing the demands of cross-country travel and a busy presidential schedule.
In an interview with the New York Post, the president said he would consider attending if the game were closer. The Super Bowl will be played in Santa Clara, California.
“It’s just too far away. I would. I’ve gotten great hands for the Super Bowl, they like me,” President Trump said. “I would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter.”
President Trump also took aim at this year’s halftime lineup, which includes Bad Bunny and Green Day.
“I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible,” the president said.
