President Obama will appear on Fox News for the first time since 2014 as part of an effort by the outgoing commander in chief to reach a broader audience, the White House explained Wednesday.
“I think anytime the president does an interview with a television program that he hasn’t done an interview with for awhile, it’s an opportunity to reach a new audience,” press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday in response to a question from CBS News’ Mark Knoller. “Or at least, an audience that may not have heard from the president directly in a while.”
Obama is slated to appear on “Fox News Sunday,” which is hosted by Chris Wallace.
Though Wallace has interviewed him three times in the past, the upcoming interview marks the first time in his entire presidency that Obama will appear on the cable news network’s popular Sunday morning program.
Wallace is the first Fox personality to interview Obama since the president joined Bill O’Reilly two years ago for a pre-Super Bowl TV interview.
The Wallace interview will be recorded Thursday from the University of Chicago, and it will air Sunday morning.
“Mr. Wallace has an established reputation for asking tough questions, so I don’t think that anyone is expecting a softball interview, but I also think there are some important issues to talk about,” Earnest told reporters Wednesday.
He explained further that “Fox News Sunday” was chosen specifically because it brings in both cable and network news audiences.
“The president is certainly looking forward to a thoughtful and serious conversation about some of these important issues, and at least for the context of this interview, the Supreme Court will be at the top of the list,” the White House press secretary said.
The scheduled interview will “cover an array of topics, including the pending Supreme Court nomination, the 2016 election and Obama’s presidential legacy,” Fox said in a statement Wednesday.
