Former ESPN host Sage Steele recounted her 2021 interview with President Biden as “heartbreaking” because the commander-in-chief was confused and unable to finish his sentences — revelations that underscore how the legacy news media covered up Mr. Biden’s frail condition.
“He struggled,” Ms. Steele told comedian Bill Maher on his “Club Ransom” podcast, which was aired this week.
She described the interview, which was filmed as a prerecorded segment ahead of ESPN’s coverage of Major League Baseball’s Opening Day that year, as “the saddest thing.”
“The human aspect of what we’re witnessing right now, to me, is heartbreaking,” she said of Mr. Biden, who, at 80, is the nation’s oldest president.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about Ms. Steele’s remarks.
It’s unclear why Ms. Steele waited two years to share her version of events. She officially left ESPN in August after settling a lawsuit with the sports network. Ms. Steele, who joined ESPN in 2007, was removed from the air because she was critical of the network’s vaccine mandate, calling it “sick” and “scary.”
She also sparked controversy with comments about vaccine mandates, female sports reporters and former President Barack Obama. Ms. Steele did not respond to a request for comment from The Washington Times.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said it was curious that Ms. Steele sat on the story about Mr. Biden’s mental difficulties for two years.
“It makes you wonder how many other stories like that have been spiked to protect Biden,” he told The Times. “It comes as no shock that [ESPN] used their platform to cover for Biden, as disgusting as that is. In truth, we have all seen Biden’s decline and the fact that journalists cover for their favored side is another indicator that we should turn them off.”
The interview occurred via satellite, not in person, and Ms. Steele said she had to “chitchat” with the president while they were waiting for some technical issues to be resolved. She said she could not see him during that time because his staffers kept the lens cap on the camera until the last second before the interview.
She said she could hear the president talking to his staffers, appearing confused about the interview.
“So I can hear him and he goes, ’What is this for? What — what’s her name?’” Ms. Steele recalled.
“I was going, ’Oh my God!’ And then [an aide] said, ’SportsCenter, ESPN.’ And he goes, ’Oh, OK,’” Ms. Steele said.
The president began the interview by talking about his high school football career in Delaware and his brief time playing freshman football at the University of Delaware.
“And so he started to tell football stories of his greatness,” Ms. Steele said.
“He goes, ’I have the best hands,’” Ms. Steele said, adding she didn’t know what to say to that.
“And here’s the saddest thing — his voice just trailed off. He said, ’I was good’ and then he went silent, and he goes … ’Uh, never mind,’” Ms. Steele recalled.
“I thought it was so sad because I realized that’s why he was in the basement during the whole election cycle — because even then he couldn’t finish his sentences. He struggled,” she said.
“Forget about politics. I don’t care, I didn’t vote for him,” she said, adding that she thinks Mr. Biden is a terrible president.
“However, forget that — the human aspect of what we’re witnessing right now with him, to me, is heartbreaking. And it’s inexcusable by the family when you knew during the election,” she said.
Ms. Steele’s comments come as Mr. Biden faces increasing pressure to drop out of the 2024 race amid voter skepticism of his age and a series of high-profile verbal miscues.
On Wednesday, Mr. Biden struggled to get through a speech about canceling $9 billion of student loan debt. He bungled the name of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, calling him “Minority Leader Jeffers.” He said he reached an “argument” with Congress, instead of an “agreement,” and botched the internet address of his administration’s student aid website, having to repeat it three times before getting it correct.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.