Steve Harvey has his sights set on expanding his empire after recently hosting his inaugural Open Fire Food Festival in Abu Dhabi, but some social media users are more interested in his past.
As the current election cycle continues to ramp up, so is talk about former President Donald Trump’s campaign for re-election. As a result, Harvey’s controversial support of the embattled political figure has again come to light.
A 2017 clip from his “Ask Steve” segment of his defunct syndicated daytime program, “Steve Harvey Show,” is recirculating online showing Harvey giving an audience member advice on why she and her family should not move abroad.
A white woman can be seen holding a microphone as she asks Harvey to help her convince her husband that moving to Sweden, “the land of Ikea,” was a sensible idea. “My husband thinks I’m nuts, though, ’cause we have Ikea here in America. However, what we don’t have here is free health care, free education, and Swedes live a very long life,” she continued stating her reasons to support the idea.
The comedian and host at first seemed dumbfounded by the notion of moving out of the country, and after a wisecrack about Sweden offering free health care to cover injuries incurred by putting together your own furniture, he pivoted his response to pro-Trump remarks.
“I wanna encourage you to stay here in this country. Donald Trump is not gonna be that bad. Don’t run. He’s gonna make Ikea bring they ass over here and start building them desks and stuff in America, ‘cause he’s gonna make America great again! Let’s go, Donald Trump,” yelled Harvey to the crowd.
Steve Harvey Knows MAGA pic.twitter.com/FBfnpkSsWm
— Close The Border (@Matt_sleepyduck) February 27, 2024
Comments on the resurfaced post on X included one person writing, “And I didn’t think my opinion of this guy could drop any further.” The original poster captioned the tweet, “Steve Harvey knows MAGA.” While another individual simply states, “We aren’t voting for Donald Trump.”
On Harvey’s YouTube page, were comments from people who support his stance, calling him a “true American.” Others pondered if the Q&A was a pre-planned bit. “Guys, he’s a comedian. He said it to get laugh. That’s what comedian do,” wrote one user who surveyed the bevy of reactions that expressed displeasure with Harvey.
Jokes aside, in real life, the four-time author faced backlash for his 2017 meeting with Trump to discuss urban development and America’s housing crisis.
“I have an obligation to take a seat at the table when invited. … Change can only happen if you sit at the table. … If you’re not at the table, you can’t even … suggest what we should be doing. Therefore, it was very important for me to take the meeting,” said Harvey on his “Steve Harvey Show” in defense of the sit-down that took place a week before “The Apprentice” creator took over the White House.
“The Original Kings of Comedy” star said transition teams for Trump and former President Barack Obama extended the invitation to him. He hoped he could be an ally to improve the lives of inner-city youth. Naysayers called him a “sellout,” “Uncle Tom,” and “coon.”
Days after the Jan. 13 meeting, he would reveal on air that “a lot of y’all hurt me…You really did. I didn’t expect the backlash to be so fierce.”
By March, the comic had doubled down on hoping for the best outcome under the Trump administration. “The problem with all this [criticism of Trump] is, is that there is an office in this country called the president, and you have to respect the office. You really do. Whether you want to or not. You have to respect the office. They got laws,” he said on his radio show.
Harvey said he missed the inauguration for a 60th birthday trip his wife, Marjorie, planned for him. When he spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the Trump controversy, he said that he wished he had followed her advice to bail on the sit-down for a later date.
He also told the publication that he was forthright with Trump about not voting for him. Despite the entertainer meeting with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson about launching STEM centers at shuttered schools in cities like Chicago and Detroit, nothing ever manifested.
