President Donald Trump didn’t just show up at Sunday’s NFL game between the Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions; he became part of Fox’s broadcast in a big way.
For an entire Commanders’ drive in the third quarter at Northwest Stadium, Trump joined Fox announcers Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma to talk football, politics, Washington, and more.
The conversation was friendly and collegial, and it steered clear of most political hot-button topics. Also not mentioned were some incredibly pertinent topics that NFL fans would be interested in hearing more about, such as Trump reportedly wanting the Commanders’ new stadium named after him and his ongoing disdain for Super Bowl LX Halftime Show performer Bad Bunny.
For viewers friendly to Trump, it was seen as a pleasant appearance that complemented his ongoing appreciation for sporting events. For those who don’t like him, it was seen as an inappropriate gesture given the ongoing government shutdown and nationwide hostility caused by his administration.
Any appearance by an American president is going to have its fair share of critics. You quite literally can’t please everyone. But there is a lingering question about whether or not Fox put Albert and Vilma, two people who talk sports, not politics, in a bad spot, given what wasn’t discussed.
That was a discussion point on Monday’s episode of The Play-By-Play, with Awful Announcing’s Brendon Kleen and Drew Lerner.
“I thought it was an interesting editorial decision, right? I think recently, when Trump has attended sporting events, the broadcaster will show him a few times, even during the event, mention he’s there, say that it’s unique to have a sitting president in attendance, that thing. Not often have we seen that president actually interviewed, like we saw in the booth on Fox yesterday,” said Lerner, who pointed out the few instances where a sitting president was interviewed during major sporting events.
“[It’s] not completely unprecedented to have the president in a booth, but it’s certainly not common, and it hasn’t happened in 16 years. And I’m sure everyone listening to this podcast would eagerly admit this country is a lot different politically now than it was 16 years ago. So the optics of having a sitting president interviewed during a live game broadcast is certainly different now than it was in 2009, the last time this happened.”
Kleen noted that while Trump seems to be very interested in integrating himself into many high-profile sporting events, that’s not exactly something many people watching at home want, even if they agree with him politically.
“He’s been very present in sports this term, even compared to the last term. It’s disruptive, right? I think that the very minimum, just people who care about this game, it’s just not really what you want to watch,” he said. “I mean, the game sucked, and nobody really is that concerned with what Marcus Mariota does with Washington the rest of the season now that Daniels has gone down. But it is still a game that people are watching, and it’s incredibly disruptive to it. I think that that’s my main criticism, as tiny as it can seem, is that part of it, for it to go on so long.”
Kleen added that Albert and Vilma were in something of a no-win situation when it came to what they could ask and how they should handle the situation.
“There’s media critics who don’t think the top reporters at these news networks do a good job of interviewing Trump or any other president, let alone these guys. And so you can say it put them in a bad position. You can criticize them,” he said. “I just think if I’m Fox, can this be at halftime with Curt Menefee? Can this be a Fox News anchor? I mean, I know people would probably have had an issue with that, too. But at least there, Bret Baier is a guy who does this. Can you put something out there with him?
“I mean, the Jonathan Vilma joke with the 6-7 stuff was one thing. But this was a softball of all softballs. And I just think to your point, the temperament of the country right now, it’s just not the time and place to have a former linebacker who’s never done this thing, be asking the president, ‘How’s the country looking right now, Mr. President?'”
As Lerner noted, there was an audience that Albert and Vilma needed to appease, and the one watching at home wasn’t it.
“I think we should be clear because I don’t want to run a truck over Jonathan Vilma and Kenny Albert for doing this. They were conducting this interview for an audience of one, and that audience was Lachlan Murdoch. They wanted to make their boss happy. They were not concerned with having a newsmaking interview or even an interview that would please the masses watching the game. I think their biggest concern was like, they just wanted to come off good for the sake of their corporate parents,” said Lerner.
“I think it’s fair to say this type of interview would never have happened on any other broadcast network other than Fox,” he continued. “And we know how deep the relationship between Fox and the Trump Administration goes. If you look at Trump’s Administration now, it would take multiple hands to count how many former Fox News anchors and reporters and whatnot are part of that cabinet, that administration. So it’s no surprise that this happened on Fox.
“But I’m not going to blame Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma for doing what they did, because that was probably the directive they were given. How else are you supposed to conduct this interview? I think where it went wrong, to your point, is how long it took. This was a nine-minute interview.”
You can listen to the rest of the discussion on YouTube or wherever you find podcasts.