Former ESPN host Sage Steele claims Biden struggled to finish sentences in unaired portion of recorded interview

Former ESPN host Sage Steele spoke about President Joe Biden on the latest episode of Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, claiming Biden struggled to finish his sentences behind the scenes of a pre-recorded interview.

Steele, an outspoken Biden critic who called him a “terrible president,” told Maher about her March 2021 interview with the Democrat, which aired before MLB’s opening day.

The interview was conducted via satellite link and pre-recorded, and Steele said technical issues delayed the start of the official interview, forcing her to ‘BS’ and ‘chat’ to fill the time.

“I had to chat while I waited for us to start rolling,” Steele said. “They put a black curtain over the camera lens so you can’t see it until the last second, but you can hear it and we’re chatting.”

“So I can hear him and he’s asking, ‘What is this for?’… And he’s saying, ‘Who am I talking to?’ Wait, what’s her name?” she recalled.

Maher responded with a joke: “This is like a Naked Gun movie.”

Steele’s March 2021 interview with Biden (seen above) aired before MLB opening day

Steele continued, saying that after an aide informed Biden that the interview was with ESPN, he responded by musing, “You know, I used to play football.”

“And so he started telling football stories about his greatness. And again, I can’t see him,” she said. ‘He says, ‘And I had the best hands. What do you say?’

In high school, Biden was a standout halfback and wide receiver, and he briefly played football as a freshman at the University of Delaware.

Steele continued, “And then I said, ‘Oh, so you were a receiver.’ And he started to explain. And this is the saddest part: his voice died away. He said, “I was good,” and then he stopped, and he said, “Uhh, whatever.”

“It made me so sad because I realized that’s why he was in his basement for the entire election cycle. Because even then he couldn’t finish his sentences,” Steele added.

“He struggled. So forget politics, I don’t care, I didn’t vote for him. But that made me sad.’

Steele prefaced her story by saying she doesn’t like Biden and thinks he’s a “terrible president.”

‘Forget that, though. The human aspect of what we are experiencing with him now is heartbreaking to me. And it’s unforgivable for the family if you knew during the election,” she said.

Former ESPN host Sage Steele appeared on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast where she claimed Biden

Former ESPN host Sage Steele appeared on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast where she claimed Biden “walked off” and struggled to finish sentences during an interview

Steele parted ways with ESPN in August after settling a lawsuit she filed seeking disciplinary action over her public criticism of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees.

Her critical comments about ESPN came while she was speaking on a podcast hosted by former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler, and just after she received the vaccine herself to comply with the policy, according to her lawsuit.

Steele was taken off the air for 10 days in October 2021 and pulled from several high-profile assignments, including coverage of the New York City Marathon, the Rose Parade and the annual ESPNW Summit.

The high-profile sports commentator has worked with ESPN since 2007.

In a social media post in August, she said she had “decided to leave so I can more freely exercise my First Amendment rights.”

‘I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and look forward to my next chapter!’ she added.