President Barack Obama gave his annual nationally televised pre-Super Bowl interview Sunday, this year shown on NBC's pregame show two hours ahead of kickoff between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.
This year, NBC called on Savannah Guthrie to interview with the President during the 4 p.m. ET hour of NBC's pregame coverage. Guthrie, 43, has been co-anchoring Today with Matt Lauer since 2012, and she also serves as the show's chief legal analyst.
On Sunday, Obama talked DeflateGate while standing in the White House kitchen. He sided with the Patriots, saying that New England would have beat Indianapolis even with properly inflated footballs.
Guthrie quickly transitioned the interview to politics. Obama talked about the successes of his tenure, namely how the country was able to successfully steer itself out of a recession. Obama also addressed his goals for his final two years in office, including infrastructure goals, affordable higher education and continued economic growth.
Obama and Guthrie finished the interview by drinking a honey ale made using honey from Michelle Obama's garden on the White House premises.
After Obama was interviewed by Fox's Bill O' Reilly last year, NBC tabbed Guthrie for this year's interview in hopes she would be less hostile while interviewing President Obama with much of the world watching. President Obama's interview last year covered a range of timely topics, from the hiccups that plagued the health care website to the Benghazi attack.
Also per tradition, President Obama did not make a prediction for Super Bowl XLIX between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. He did admit that he thinks the game will be close, though he has worries about the health of Seattle's secondary.