Stephen A. Smith sparked an uproar on social media last week after going on Fox News and accusing Democrats of politicizing the justice system against Donald Trump, suggesting the timing of the criminal hush money trial was orchestrated to disrupt the 2024 election and sabotage the former president’s chances to take back the Oval Office.
But that wasn’t the worst of what he had to say as the controversial ESPN host went on to compare Trump’s current legal problems to the long history of racism and struggle endured by millions of Black Americans and their ancestors.
Smith made the controversial remarks during the April 18 broadcast of Sean Hannity’s prime time news show, arguing that Democrats had pushed for Trump’s trial to begin before the election to bog down the Republican frontrunner and pave the way for President Joe Biden’s reelection in November.
“Primarily I have voted Democrat throughout my life, but I’m utterly disgusted with what I’m seeing,” said Smith, who’s made a name for himself by expressing his loudmouthed, contrarian viewpoints.
This time was no different as Smith told the conservative audience that Democrats were pursuing the hush money case because they were otherwise unable to stop Trump’s rising popularity in the polls, particularly among Black voters.
“They’ve clearly politicized this thing with Donald Trump because they can’t come up with a strategy to offset the momentum he’s clearly gained,” Smith said during the shameless moment. “That appears to be their strategy, but I’m going to tell you, it’s not working. It’s not working at all.”
However, before the first of Trump’s four criminal trials begins Monday in Manhattan, a poll by Yahoo News/YouGov showed Trump holding just a slight lead over Biden following an earlier double-digit advantage that all but evaporated in recent weeks, while Biden gained ground to force a virtual tie with Trump at 44 percent in mid-April.
Later, Smith sparked even more outrage when he compared Trump’s legal plight with the struggle of Black people throughout history, which Smith claimed was increasing Trump’s appeal with Black voters.
“By Donald Trump’s statement weeks ago, talking about how he’s hearing that Black folks find him relatable, because what he’s going through is similar to what Black Americans have gone through. He wasn’t lying,” Smith said confidently. “He was telling the truth. When you see the law enforcement, the court system, and everything else being exercised against him, it is something that Black folks, throughout this nation, can relate to.”
“With some of our historic, iconic figures, we’ve seen that happen throughout society. So no matter what race, what ethnicity you may emanate from, we relate to you when you’re suffering like that, because we know we have. And that’s what he articulated.”
Smith’s defense of Trump prompted a swift rebuke from a number of prominent Black activists, including Bishop Talbert Swan, a Massachusetts pastor known for his outspokenness on issues related to racial justice and social equality, who blasted Smith for his “irresponsible remarks.”
“Stephen A. Smith going on Fox News, an anti Black, white supremacist, news outlet, and comparing Donald Trump being prosecuted for paying a porn star hush money with historical, Black, civil rights figures, and freedom fighters like Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, The Black Panther Party, and others, being illegally surveilled, infiltrated, discredited, disrupted, profiled, arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and even murdered, is blatantly disrespectful, irresponsible, and a gross display of sycophantic tap dancing,” the leader of Spring of Hope Church of God in Christ wrote on the platform X.
“Stephen, you should be ashamed and embarrassed,” he added.
Later in the interview, Smith tried to save face by claiming he doesn’t support a second term for Trump, saying, “I want him to lose” — which was a complete about-face from his earlier statement where he slammed Democrats and expressed support for the Republican frontrunner.
“And to be quite honest, I don’t mind the fact that it’s not working because I might not be a supporter of Donald Trump, but I want him to lose the right way.”
Smith’s apparent attempt to clarify his stance did little to erase the controversy ignited by his earlier comments, which came across as contradictory and unclear.
The remarks left many social media users literally scratching their damn heads after the commentator said he wants to see Trump lose the election “the right way” — meaning, without meddling and interference by Democrats.
“I honestly don’t understand why anyone would listen to anything Stephen A. Smith has to say about politics,” one user wrote included with a meme of Nene Leakes, from Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta, rolling her eyes. “I barely want his opinion on sports.”
Another user on X tagged Smith, saying the commentator had the “right2his opinions. But I have right2be appalled by his idiotic opinions — especially racist opinions that say black ppl sympathize & identify w/ indicted criminals. I will no longer watch any show on ESPN he hosts or appears on. He’s reprehensible.”
“Supporting a white guy that hates black people? Can someone please make sense of this for me? What a huge sellout he is,” another X user chimed in.
Smith’s support for Trump was troubling as Trump continued to perpetuate racist dog whistles on the campaign trail to stir controversy and energize his supporters, while lashing out at Black judicial officials overseeing his many criminal and civil cases, making them targets of his never-ending political grievances.
Trump’s self-declared enemies include New York Attorney General Letitia James, who recently won the multimillion-dollar civil claim against Trump’s businesses; U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over Trump’s prosecution in the federal election interference case; and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who indicted Trump on 34 felony charges related to the hush-money scheme involving former adult film star Stormy Daniels.
All of the court officials are Black.
In February, Trump ignited another such a firestorm after he described President Biden as “a very nasty and vicious racist” during a speech at the annual Black Conservative Federation gala in South Carolina.
After the speech, the Biden campaign wasted no time blasting Trump for pandering to the Black community, while accusing the former president of purposely stoking racial tensions.
In a statement following the speech, Vice President Kamala Harris excoriated Trump, calling him hypocritical and disingenuous.
“The audacity of Donald Trump to speak to a room full of Black voters during Black History Month as if he isn’t the proud poster boy for modern racism,” Harris fumed. “This is the same man who falsely accused the Central Park 5, questioned George Floyd’s humanity, compared his own impeachment trial to being lynched, and ensured the unemployment gap for Black workers spiked during his presidency.”
Harris then doubled down on Trump’s true disregard for the Black community.
“Donald Trump has been showing Black Americans his true colors for years: An incompetent, anti-Black tyrant who holds us to such low regard that he publicly dined with white nationalists a week after declaring his 2024 candidacy.
“Come November, no matter how many disingenuous voter engagement events he attends, Black Americans will show Donald Trump we know exactly who he is,” Harris added.
Not long after that, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock called out Trump for always taking aim at Black women in his speeches, while standing up for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis amid her involvement in a romance scandal.
“I’m never surprised when I’ve seen Donald Trump attacking women, especially Black women,” the Georgia Democrat told Jake Tapper during a an interview in March. “This is who he is.”
Smith, on the other hand, had nothing negative to say about Trump, and at times seemed to express admiration for the former president who’s been accused of bigotry by many other prominent Black leaders.
Instead, Stephen A. told Hannity that he didn’t think the timing was right for Trump to be held accountable despite the extensive time that had passed since the alleged transactions involving him. But in the same breath, Smith emphasized his strong desire for Trump to lose in November.
“I want him to lose because you have better ideas and you make your case to the American people better than he does. That’s why I want him to lose,” Smith said. “I don’t want him to lose the way they’re trying to make him lose.”
Trump, meanwhile, is facing a total of 88 criminal charges, including 34 counts in the hush money indictment, which accuses Trump of using campaign funds to cover up an alleged sexual affair with Stormy Daniels prior to his election in 2016.
The case claims that Trump unlawfully altered business records while reimbursing his ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a payment to Daniels, which hid the scandal from voters and helped seal Trump’s shocking victory eight years ago.
It’s uncertain if any of the other criminal cases will go to trial before November as Trump was the first president in history to face criminal indictment, accused of state and federal election fraud and of illegally retaining classified documents after leaving office.
