Stephen A. Smith unloaded on Jill Biden during Wednesday’s episode of his “Straight Shooter” podcast, accusing Democrats of damaging their own credibility with voters after years of publicly defending former President Joe Biden.
Smith zeroed in on Jill Biden’s new memoir, View From the East Wing, where she revealed she initially feared her husband was having a stroke during his disastrous 2024 debate performance against President Donald Trump.
“You had commentators literally say on national television, he looked like an elderly patient in a nursing home waiting for his applesauce to be fed to him,” Smith said. “And this woman, his wife, the former first lady, goes out there in front of the microphones with the cameras working and say, ‘You were wonderful. You answered all the questions.’ Really? Really?”
Smith contrasted Jill Biden’s public defense of her husband after the debate with the admissions now surfacing during the rollout of her memoir.
“And then now it’s almost two years later and what does she do? With a book to sell, she admits she thought he had a stroke,” Smith said. “He was so awful. He was so bad that night. He was so unlike himself. She thought he actually had a stroke.”
The ESPN personality argued the timing could not be worse for Democrats heading into a critical election cycle featuring gubernatorial races, mayoral contests and the 2026 midterms.
“So, in other words, with gubernatorial races set to come about, with mayoral races going coming about, with the midterms coming about, you going to go out there on center stage and admit on behalf of the Democratic Party that you and the rest of them were lying through their teeth,” Smith said. “And you think that’s going to help y’all win?”
Smith said the controversy reflects a broader credibility problem hurting Democrats nationally and fueling Republican optimism in states that have traditionally leaned blue.
“What am I missing? This kind of nonsense is what I’m talking about. This is the kind of stuff that’s got to be eradicated,” Smith said, adding that Republicans are now increasingly confident about competing in places like California.
Hannity’s Highlights
Stephen A. Smith says Jill Biden’s latest admissions are deepening voter distrust in Democrats — arguing the revelations add fuel to a credibility problem the party hasn’t solved.
Smith contends Democrats defended Biden publicly while privately acknowledging serious concerns — calling the gap between messaging and reality the core of the party’s trust problem.
He warned the fallout could damage Democrats in the 2026 midterms — saying the party is carrying unresolved baggage into a cycle it can’t afford to lose further ground in.
Smith said Republicans are gaining confidence even in deep-blue California — pointing to the state as a sign the GOP is no longer playing purely on defense.
Smith also pushed back on accusations that his criticism amounted to anti-Democrat commentary.
“I’m being pro-Democrat,” he said. “I’m trying to tell you how to win, and how to avoid losing, and looking like a bunch of lying a–es.”
Jill Biden famously defended her husband immediately following the June 2024 debate, praising him at a post-debate campaign event by saying, “Joe, you did such a great job! You answered every question, you knew all the facts!”
But in her memoir, she now admits both she and Joe Biden understood the performance had gone badly, writing that she initially feared he was suffering a medical emergency on stage.
Watch the episode above.
