Radio shock jock Howard Stern lashed out at critics who suggested the White House had fed him questions ahead of his sit-down interview with President Joe Biden.
Stern called out YouTuber David Pakman, who said that Stern’s interview had been a good one but wondered whether the White House had prompted him to ask specific policy questions, and denied that Biden’s staff had any influence over what he’d chosen to discuss.
Pakman had suggested Biden’s team was behind him asking about a new policy regarding airline cancellations — namely that the airlines would have to immediately refund ticket prices for canceled flights — but Stern said that the question had actually been prompted by a conversation he had with someone on his show staff.
“Here’s what happened. When Joe Biden came in, the day before [producer] John Hein and I were talking about some of the accomplishments that we admire that have gone on in the past four years, and John says to me, ‘Hey, Howard, did you hear what Joe Biden did with the airlines?'” he said.
“Cut the conspiracies,” Stern said in response to rumors that Biden had been wearing an earpiece during their conversation. “You’ve gotta f***ing be kidding me! First of all, we controlled all the audio.”
Stern went on to say that when he requested the interview, he had not wanted it to turn into a long back-and-forth on political issues and policies.
“My whole goal was not to sit there and talk politics. I’m not into that. I don’t want to debate policy,” he explained. “My only agenda [was] I would like to get to know the president because I suspect he’s a very meaningful, very thoughtful guy.”
Stern’s interview netted a series of wild claims from Biden, ranging from his time as a lifeguard — when he said that he saved half a dozen lives — to his assertion that he had been sent “salacious” photos from women shortly after his first wife died.