ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith pushed back against Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday after being asked point-blank how he could have “missed” President Joe Biden’s mental fitness. In June 2023, Smith publicly criticized Biden’s bid for reelection, urging Democrats to nominate someone else due to the president’s age and ability to serve another four years. On “Hannity,” the Fox host asked Smith how he had missed the president’s mental fitness during the first three years of his term, highlighting how he had played “montage after montage” for him. “Hold it. Let me answer. First of all, don’t try that with me. I called Joe Biden out a year before the election. I got raked through the coals right along with you. When you got raked through the coals, I was right there,” Smith said. “Everybody was like, what are you talking about? You don’t know anything.” Hannity could be heard noting that Smith’s callout of Biden came only a year before the presidential election, to which Smith admitted that his criticism of Biden was delayed. “But the bottom line is I was right there the year before the election. That’s number one,” Smith said. “Number two, when I talked about Kamala Harris and voted for her, what I said is I didn’t want chaos replicating what we saw in his first term.” “I figured you got the House. You can win the House. You can win the Senate. You’ll have people that can literally position her and pull her to the center and there won’t be as much chaos because I didn’t like the way that he [Trump] acted. That’s all I said,” Smith said. WATCH: By January 2024, Smith continued to echo his opposition to Biden’s reelection bid, saying during an interview with Howard Stern that it was a “disgrace” the party was “begging” an 82-year-old man to run and serve another four years. Following Biden’s withdrawal from the race, Smith announced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris. However, after President-elect Donald Trump’s win, Smith publicly expressed regret for voting for the party in November. Smith went on to say that he didn’t have “a problem” with Trump’s position on the economy, border or foreign affairs, but said Trump was not “the right man for the job.” “So it was a lot of things that we were agreeing with. I just didn’t believe that that man was the right man for the job because I said the presidency is a statesmanship, is a statesman’s position. I believe that somebody else would have been better,” Smith said. “But in hindsight, looking at what has transpired post election and seeing the level [of’] the groveling one minute or folks on Capitol Hill during these confirmation hearings and you’re acting like you’re campaigning. He won the election, and look at how they’re still acting! It’s all disgusting to watch. It’s all disgusting,” Smith said. Throughout Biden’s term, Republicans had called out the president’s mental fitness; however, Democrats had continuously defended his cognitive abilities and downplayed the concerns. During a June 17 press briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Republicans were creating videos of Biden appearing confused or stumbling on his words, labeling them as “cheap fakes.” However, following Biden’s poor debate performance against Trump in June, Democrats began to echo Republicans’ concerns about Biden’s mental fitness, with the president’s polls quickly dropping in the race. With fewer than five days left in office, Biden is set to leave with his lowest approval rating, as only 36% of Americans support his term, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS. (Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Fox News/”Hannity”) All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
