"NFL ABSOLUTELY can't allow this," tweets former New York Times TV reporter Bill Carter, a CNN analyst, of Fox's announcement that Hannity will handle the traditional pregame show interview with the president. "This is a campaign commercial, not an interview. Ppl need to protest, LOUDLY. Can't turn the Super Bowl into Trump TV. Halftime sponsors should insist on different interviewer-Chris Wallace? Otherwise, every right to call for advertiser boycott. First thing: media must put NFL on spot: did they acquiesce to Fox using Hannity, a Trump lackey+promoter, at halftime? How can it be justified? It's supposed to be a NEWS interview, not propaganda. Dems will surely demand equal time for what's really a free campaign commercial. The interview will be on pre-game show, not halftime. No matter. NFL cannot be used for propaganda. Not a legit interview; it's a campaign commercial. No way should pre-game advertisers accept it. Hannity literally campaigns for Trump. It's an election yr. NFL MUST reject this." Carter notes that partisan former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly interviewed President Trump for 2017's Super Bowl pregame show, as he did previously with President Obama. "O'Reilly was questionable choice, but not a Trump cultist like Hannity," tweets Carter. "He asked legit news questions, including pressing Trump on his affection for a killer like Putin, which elicited the outrageous comment that US are killers too. Hannity might shine Trump's shoes on the air. If Trump made pre-game interview conditional on Hannity doing it, the NFL, which holds enormous sway over TV partners, ABSOLUTELY needed to refuse. Yes, Fox programs pre-game hrs, but S Bowl is NFL crown jewel. Can't allow Fox to drag the league's big day into the partisan muck."
TOPICS: Trump Presidency, FOX, Super Bowl LIV, Sean Hannity, NFL