White House spokesman, Josh Earnest confirmed Wednesday that President Barack Obama would be appearing on Fox News Sunday, the Sunday talk and interview show hosted by Chris Wallace.
This marks Obama's first appearance on the program since becoming President of the United States seven years ago.
When asked by Mark Knoller why Obama was now just appearing on the Sunday show, Earnest said that Obama was looking to reach another audience.
"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, " Earnest said. "Or at least, an audience that may not have heard from the president directly in a while."
Obama will be traveling to the University of Chicago Law School where he plans to give a speech on the importance of Congress confirming Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Obama put up Garland for the spot in February after the sudden death of Antonin Scalia.
The interview will be with Chris Wallace and will tape Thursday afternoon and air on 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 said.
Knoller asked if there was a particular reason Fox News Sunday was chosen. Earnest said that the show not only brings in Fox News viewers but Fox broadcast viewers as well.
"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," Earnest said.
Obama has made a point of taking shots at Fox News over the years, once telling Bill O'Reilly to his face that the channel would "promote" scandals about his administration.