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Trump declines ESPN invite to fill out NCAA bracket on-air

Donald Trump Holds Joint Press Conference With Israeli PM Netanyahu

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 15: U.S. President Donald Trump (2nd L) escorts Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) to his waiting vehicle following meetings at the White House February 15, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump hosted Prime Minister Netanyahu for talks for the first time since Trump took office on January 20. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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President Donald Trump won’t be filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket on ESPN this March, unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama.

ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz says the network expressed its “interest to the White House in continuing the presidential bracket. They have respectfully declined.”

Obama, a basketball fan, would join the network on-camera and make his March Madness picks for both the men’s and women’s brackets. Last year, he nailed a number of upsets - most notably Hawaii knocking off fourth-seeded California in the opening round - but he had Villanova, the eventual national champion, losing in the Elite Eight.

Trump did make a prediction on the Super Bowl, picking New England to win by eight points. He wasn’t far off, as the Patriots rallied to beat the Falcons 34-28 in overtime.

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks tells The Washington Post in an email, “We look forward to working with ESPN on another opportunity in the near future.”

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More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25