Ex-ESPN Host Sage Steele Tells Bill Maher About “Heartbreaking” Interview With Joe Biden Where He “Couldn’t Finish His Sentences”

Sage Steele is recalling an allegedly awkward interaction she had with President Joe Biden. While chatting on Bill Maher‘s Club Random podcast, the former ESPN anchor claimed the president struggled to finish his sentences when she interviewed him for the network.

According to Steele, the pre-recorded interview took place shortly after Biden was elected president, and aired in March 2021 ahead of the MLB All-Star game.

“I don’t like him. I think he’s a terrible president,” she prefaced. “However, forget that. The human aspect of what we’re witnessing right now with him — to me, it’s heartbreaking and it’s inexcusable by the family when you knew during the election.”

Before the interview began, she said there were technical issues — so Steele was forced to “BS” and “chit-chat” with Biden before they could begin rolling. While she couldn’t see him due to a black cover kept over his camera lens until the last second, she said she could hear him.

“He goes, ‘What is this for?’… And he’s, like, ‘Who am I talking to? Wait — what’s her name?'” Steele claimed, to which Maher joked, “This is like a Naked Gun movie.”

After an aide informed Biden that he was talking to ESPN, he allegedly pointed out that he used to play football.

“So he started to tell football stories of his greatness. And again, I can’t see him … He goes, ‘And I had the best hands.’ What do you say to that?” Steele asked. “Then I said, ‘Oh, so you were a receiver.’ And he started to explain it. 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.'”

She continued, “I thought it was so sad because I realized that’s why he was in his basement during the whole election cycle. Because even then, he couldn’t finish his sentences. He struggled. So forget about politics, I don’t care, I didn’t vote for him. However, that made me sad.”

Steele officially parted ways with ESPN in August when she settled a lawsuit in which she alleged that the network and Disney “sidelined” her after she appeared on Jay Cutler‘s Uncut podcast. The star came under fire when she slammed ESPN’s coronavirus vaccine mandate as “sick” and made controversial comments about several other topics.

“Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my First Amendment rights more freely,” Steele said in an Instagram post. “I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!”