Biden interview was ‘heartbreaking’ because he ‘just trailed off,’ ex-ESPN anchor says
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Former ESPN host Sage Steele recounted her 2021 interview with President Biden as “heartbreaking,” saying the commander in chief was confused, trailed off and unable to finish his sentences.
“He struggled,” Ms. Steele told comedian Bill Maher on his “Club Ransom” podcast, which was released 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 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.
“So 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.
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