Former ESPN host Sage Steele said that interviewing President Biden was “the saddest thing” because he seemed confused and “couldn’t finish his sentences.”
“He struggled,” Steele said of the oldest president in US history, who “trailed off” on topics even more than two years ago.
“So forget about politics. I don’t care, I didn’t vote for him,” Steele told Bill Maher on his “Club Ransom” podcast Sunday, admitting she thinks Biden is “a terrible president.”
“However, that made me sad,” she said of his confusion.
“The human aspect of what we’re witnessing right now, to me, is heartbreaking,” she said of the now-80-year-old president facing escalating pressure over his age and a series of gaffes as he runs to stay in office.
Steele told the comedian that she interviewed Biden in March 2021 for a pre-recorded segment ahead of MLB’s Opening Day that Year.
“It was satellite, it wasn’t in person,” she explained, noting that they were having technical issues and she had to stall the chief executive as they waited for the issues to be resolved.
“So I had to, like, BS. I had to chitchat, waiting for us to start rolling.”
Steele said she could not see the president as his staffers kept a lens cover over the camera “until the last second, but you can hear and we’re chitchatting.
“So I can hear him and he goes, ‘What is this for? Wait — what’s her name?’” Steele recounted, as Maher started laughing.
“I was going, ‘Oh my God!’ And then [an aide] said, ‘SportsCenter, ESPN.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, OK.’”
At that point, the president started to tell her about his own football career. In high school, Biden was a standout halfback and wide receiver. He also briefly played football as a freshman at the University of Delaware.
“And so he started to tell football stories of his greatness,” Steele recounted, noting she still could not see him.
“He goes, ‘I have the best hands.’ What do you say to that?” Steele asked.
“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.’
