Trump interview unlikely during college football title game

President Trump is unlikely to be interviewed by ESPN during Monday night’s college football national championship game, The Associated Press reported.

“We’re still talking to the White House. I don’t get the sense he’s going to do an interview,” said Stephanie Druley, ESPN’s senior vice president for events and studio programs.

Trump is expected to attend Monday night’s game between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama, which is being played in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 

{mosads}ESPN will show Trump at the game, Druley said. ESPN’s planned coverage of the president hasn’t changed based on Trump’s past comments about the network, she added.

“It’s the president. The president shows up at a sporting event, ideally, you document it and you’d like to talk to him” Druley said.

Trump has regularly weighed in on sports controversies, sparking fights with athletes and other prominent figures.

Trump has repeatedly criticized NFL players who took a knee or demonstrated in some other way during the national anthem prior to games this season to protest social justice issues.

After Jemele Hill, one of ESPN’s most prominent on-air personalities, called Trump a “white supremacist,” the White House called for her firing. The network gave her a temporary suspension.

Hill also called for viewers to boycott Dallas Cowboys advertisers after the team’s owner, Jerry Jones, made statements criticizing the anthem protests. That led Trump to attack Hill and ESPN directly.

“With Jemele Hill at the mike, it is no wonder ESPN ratings have ‘tanked,’ in fact, tanked so badly it is the talk of the industry!” the president tweeted.

Trump also feuded with Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry last year after the team won the NBA championship. The Warriors opted not to visit the White House.