Sage Steele says her 2021 Biden interview was ‘heavily scripted’ by ESPN execs, but the sports network likely wasn’t the head of the snake
Former ESPN journalist Sage Steele, who’s now an independent podcaster, has revealed that her 2021 interview with Joe Biden was “heavily scripted.”
“It was so structured, and I was told, ‘You will say every word that we write out. You will not deviate from this script,’” she told Fox News in an interview, adding that “every single question was scripted and gone over dozens of times by many executives.”
“I knew that this was a lot bigger than just the wonderful editors that I worked with. This went up to the ‘fourth floor,’ as we said, where all the bosses, the top executives, [and] the decision-makers are,” she continued.
“I think it's obvious to anyone paying attention why ESPN executives needed her to stick to the script when interviewing the dementia patient in chief, seeing as the network decided years ago to just carry water for the Democrats no matter the cost,” says Sara Gonzales.
BlazeTV contributor Matthew Marsden, however, thinks the ESPN execs who were puppeteering Sage’s interview with the president aren't where the chain of command stopped.
“Who is ESPN owned by?” he asks.
For those who don’t know, the answer is Disney.
“Interesting,” says Marsden. “It’s almost as if there are these conglomerates that have a vested interest in the Democratic Party.”
“I’ll go one further on that same line,” says Jason Buttrill, “dedicated interest in propaganda.”
“If you’re writing the script, you’re not allowing a journalist to be a journalist and get information out. You’re just spewing propaganda,” he continues.
So what’s making the majority of these journalists so willing to regurgitate the leftist narrative? Is it because they genuinely believe in left-wing ideologies?
According to Marsden, some probably do buy into the wokeism, but many others are just “scared of losing their jobs.”
As an actor, “I know all about that,” he says. “If you stray away from the narrative, you get canceled, and then once you get canceled, you can't get any more work so then you're out there working at Trader Joe's.”
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Biden gets testy with Lester Holt during interview, rejects Army report critical of administration's Afghanistan withdrawal
President Joe Biden said he rejects the findings in an investigative report by the U.S. Army that accused his administration of not adequately preparing for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The comments were made during a wide-ranging interview with NBC's Lester Holt, and at one point President Biden got testy with the host.
On Tuesday, the Washington Post released an article detailing an Army report that contains documents and sworn testimony from U.S. military commanders involved in the Afghanistan withdrawal last summer. The 2,000-page investigative report – which was released to the outlet through a Freedom of Information Act request – claimed that White House and State Department officials failed to understand and prepare for how fast the Taliban would capture Kabul. The report claimed that senior officials disregarded advice by military commanders to prepare for the evacuation of embassy staffers and Afghan allies as the Taliban marched toward the capital city.
In the end, 13 American service members and more than 180 Afghan civilians were killed in August by an ISIS-K suicide bomb attack outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport during the frantic evacuation.
During the "NBC Nightly News" interview, President Biden said he rejected the findings of the report.
"On the subject of American citizens, I have to draw your attention to that Army report, an investigative report that’s come out about the lead up to the withdrawal from Afghanistan," Holt said. "It interviewed many military officials and officers, who said the administration ignored the handwriting on the wall. Another describe trying to get folks in the embassy ready to evacuate, encountering people who are in essentially in denial of the situation. Does any of that ring true to you?"
Biden responded, "No. No. That’s not that I was told."
"Look, there was no good time to get out, but if we had not gotten out, they acknowledged we would have had to put a hell of a lot more troops back in," Biden continued. "It wasn’t just 2,000, 4,000, we would have to significantly increase the number of troops, and we’re back in this war of attrition."
Biden then had difficulty remembering which country he was talking about.
"And, and there was no way we were ever going to unite Ukraine, I mean, excuse me, Iraq, Afghanistan," Biden said. "No way that was going to happen. And so this is a much wiser thing to do."
Holt asked Biden if he was rejecting the findings of the report, to which the president replied, "Yes, I am."
When asked if the findings are not true, Biden retorted, "I am rejecting them."
On NBC, Biden repeatedly dismisses the Army's report about the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan --\n\nHolt: "Are you rejecting the conclusions or the accounts...in this Army report?"\n\nBiden: "Yes, I am."\n\nHolt: "So they're not true?"\n\nBiden: "I'm rejecting them."pic.twitter.com/AInRMQbMw6— Curtis Houck (@Curtis Houck) 1644539648
President Biden got a bit peeved during the interview when Holt asked about the latest inflation report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On Thursday, it was announced that the consumer price index rose in January to an annual rate of 7.5% – the highest inflation rate in 40 years.
In July, President Biden said that inflation would be temporary.
Holt told Biden, "I think a lot of Americans are wondering what your definition of temporary is."
Biden responded, "Well, you're being a wise guy with me a little bit, and I understand that's your job."
He then blamed the supply chain crisis for inflation.
"But look, at the time what happened was the — let's look at the reasons for the inflation," Biden said. "The reason for the inflation is the supply chains were cut off, meaning that the products, for example automobiles—the lack of computer chips to be able to build those automobiles so they could function — they need those computer chips. They were not available. So what happens? The number of cars were reduced but made up at one-third the cost of inflation because the price of automobiles were up. "
.@LesterHoltNBC: "...back in July you said inflation was going to be temporary. I think a lot of Americans are wondering what your definition of temporary is."\n\u00a0\nPresident Biden: "You're being a wise guy with me a little bit."pic.twitter.com/acWhRDhLPn— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt) 1644538374
On the topic of Russia potentially invading Ukraine, Biden told American citizens living there to "leave now."
"It’s not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It’s a very different situation, and things could go crazy quickly," Biden said.
Holt asked the commander in chief if there was a scenario in which he would send troops to Ukraine to rescue American citizens, to which Biden replied, "There’s not. That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another."
President Biden tells @LesterHoltNBC that sending troops to evacuate Americans in Ukraine would be "world war."\n\nWatch more from the exclusive interview: https://nbcnews.to/3674q3V\u00a0pic.twitter.com/4yeBRlhYQg— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt) 1644544801
Holt asked if Biden was afraid that "some states and cities are moving too quickly to loosen indoor mask mandates."
"I committed that I would follow the science, the science as put forward by the CDC and the federal people," Biden answered. "I think it's probably premature, but it's a tough call."
NBC's Lester Holt: "Are you afraid...some states & cities are moving too quickly to loosen indoor mask mandates?"\n\nBiden: "Well...I committed that I would follow the science...put forward by the CDC & the federal people & I think it's probably premature, but...it's a tough call"pic.twitter.com/Z7T9THGBeX— Curtis Houck (@Curtis Houck) 1644539107
Regarding finding a replacement for Justice Stephen Breyer, Biden said he has done a "deep dive" on "about four people." He believes his nominee will get a vote from Republicans because he's looking for someone who will have "the same kind of capacity" as Justice Breyer.
President Biden on his search for a Supreme Court nominee:\n\nBiden tells @LesterHoltNBC that he\u2019s done a deep dive on \u201cabout four people,\u201d and thinks his pick will get a vote from Republicans\n\nBiden says he's looking for someone "with the same kind of capacity" as Justice Breyerpic.twitter.com/pNYLrLVSBR— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt) 1644529431
NBC will release more clips from the interview before the Super Bowl on Sunday.
NBC News Exclusive: One-On-One with President Biden www.youtube.com
Joe Biden says he broke his foot after exiting the shower and grabbing his dog's tail
Former Vice President Joe Biden finally revealed exactly how he broke his foot, and it is not your garden variety way of suffering such an injury. Also in the CNN interview, Biden said he would call on Americans to wear face masks for 100 days, and talked about his family's business dealings.
On Saturday, there was news that the 78-year-old Democrat was injured, and the initial reports stated that Biden had suffered a twisted ankle from playing with his dog. On Sunday, the former vice president visited an orthopedist in Newark, Delaware, who found that Biden had sustained a hairline fracture.
"Initial X-rays did not show any obvious fracture, but his clinical exam warranted more detailed imaging," said Kevin O'Connor, Biden's physician. "Follow-up CT scan confirmed hairline (small) fractures of President-elect Biden's lateral and intermediate cuneiform bones, which are in the mid-foot. It is anticipated that he will likely require a walking boot for several weeks."
On Thursday, Biden appeared on CNN and told the story of how he hurt his foot.
"What happened was I got out of the shower. I got a dog and anybody who's been around my house knows — dropped, little pup dropped a ball in front of me. And for me to grab the ball," Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper.
"And I'm walking through this little alleyway to get to the bedroom," Biden stated. "And I grabbed the ball like this and he ran. And I'm joking, running after him and grab his tail. And what happened was that he slid on a throw rug. And I tripped on the rug he slid on. That's what happened. Oh man, not a very exciting story."
Biden was allegedly playing with his dog named "Major," one of his two German shepherds. The other is named "Champ."
Biden's campaign stated that the former vice president might have to wear a walking boot for "several weeks," but he was seen without the medical boot on Thursday when he arrived at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware, for the CNN interview.
Also in Thursday's CNN interview, Biden vowed that his family's business dealings would not conflict with any White House responsibilities.
"My son, my family, will not be involved in any business, any enterprise, that is in conflict with or appears to be in conflict, with the appropriate distance from, the presidency and government," Biden said.
There has been much speculation about purported overseas business dealings by Biden's son and brother following the release of emails that were reportedly from Hunter Biden's laptop.
On the topic of the coronavirus, Biden said he would call on Americans to wear face masks for 100 days.
"Just 100 days to mask. Not forever — 100 days," Biden said. "I think we'll see a significant reduction if that occurs with vaccinations and masking, to drive down the numbers considerably."
In October, Biden hinted that he would implement a mask mandate on federal property.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) has already said she won't comply if Biden attempts to institute a national mask mandate.
Biden asks Americans to mask for 100 days to fight Covid-19 www.youtube.com
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Biden whisper yells at Lester Holt in devastatingly ‘awkward’ interview
President Joe Biden is falling apart at the seams — and it couldn’t be more obvious.
In a recent interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, the president got noticeably snippy before the questions even began.
“Sometimes come and talk to me about what we should be talking about,” Biden said, directly after Holt simply thanked him for making time to talk.
Pat Gray, Keith Malinak, and Jeffy of “Pat Gray Unleashed” are shocked at how quickly things went sour.
“That was so awkward,” Malinak says, while Gray adds, “He’s pissed before the interview even begins. And he’s pissed at Lester Holt.”
As the interview went on, it only got worse.
“What happens if you have another episode like we saw during the debate?” Holt asks Biden, adding to clarify, “What happens if you have another performance on that par, on that level?”
“I don’t plan on having another performance on that level,” Biden mumbles, nearly whispering.
“In your last TV interview you were asked if you had watched the debate, your answer was ‘I don’t think so, no.’ Have you since seen it?” Holt asks Biden.
“I’ve seen pieces of it,” Biden says angrily. “I’m not watching the whole debate.”
“The reason I ask, because I guess the question is, are you all on the same page? Are you seeing what they saw, which was moments of frankly,” Holt goes on, “you appeared to be confused.”
“Lester, look. Why don’t you guys ever talk about the 18 to 28 lies he told? Where are you on this? Why didn’t the press ever talk about that? Twenty-eight times it's confirmed he lied in that debate,” Biden says, adding, “I had a bad, bad night. I wasn’t feeling well at all.”
When Holt tells Biden the media has reported extensively on their issues with Trump as well, Biden smiles creepily and leans in.
“No you haven’t, no you haven’t,” Biden says with a terrifying smile. “God love you.”
Holt then really hits a nerve when he asks the president whether he has any desire to “get back on the horse” and do the next debate sooner.
“I’m on the horse, where have you been?” Biden says. “I’ve done 22 major events, and thousands of people, overwhelming crowds, a lot happening. I’m on the horse. What I’m doing is going out and demonstrating to the American people that I’m in command of all my faculties, that I don’t need notes, I don’t need teleprompters, I can go out and answer any questions at all.”
“I stood there when NATO was in town. I stood there for an hour and answered questions,” he adds.
“With notes, with teleprompter. All scripted,” Jeffy comments.
“Knowing the questions in advance. That’s what he’s shown us. And he can’t handle that!” Gray adds.
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