Stephen A. Smith Scolds ‘Disrespectful’ Hannity: ‘There Are Nicer Ways to Speak About Our President’
ESPN host Stephen A. Smith scolded Fox News host Sean Hannity for his remarks about President Joe Biden’s cognitive ability on Friday.
During an appearance on Hannity, Smith told the Fox News host that while it is okay to say Biden was “a bit slow,” it is disrespectful to speak about the president of the United States in the way that Hannity had been doing on his show.
The host began by noting a Department of Justice report about Biden’s improper retention of classified documents after he was a senator and vice president. Released on Thursday, the report concluded Biden should not be criminally charged in part because a jury may see him “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
“I’m gonna call you out because yesterday, we learned from the special counsel, not Sean Hannity your buddy, you learned from the special counsel that Joe Biden is a cognitive mess,” said Hannity, adding:
He didn’t remember the time when his son died, he didn’t remember when he was vice president, asked questions about “was I vice president then in 2009? When did it end?” And, you know, earlier this week you sent me a note during this live program, and what did you say? “Uh, you’re talking about his cognitive decline again.” I’m like, well, you can say it now. Sean Hannity’s been right all along. Say it.
Smith replied, “Well first of all, first of all, I don’t recall saying that you were wrong. I said you were disrespectful. There is a difference. What I said is there are nicer ways to speak about our president.”
He continued:
You can sit up there and say he’s a bit slow, communicatively, obviously a little, not the pep in the step that he once had. He is in his 80s, for crying out loud. Respect your elders. What I said was speak about him, instead of saying a cognitive mess, could you not be nicer about it? That is what I said to you and I’m still saying it to you. You could be nice.
Hannity concluded, “We feel really sorry for him. You know, we wish him the best of health. Look, it’s a serious issue. Alright, let’s move on.”
During a press conference on Thursday, which was meant to alleviate concerns about Biden’s memory after the Department of Justice report said he couldn’t remember when his son died, Biden mistakenly referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as “the president of Mexico.”
Watch above via Fox News.
