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While Stephen A. Smith has recently downplayed his political aspirations, he looked plenty presidential on Tuesday morning.
Opening the 11 a.m. hour of First Take, the ESPN star delivered a nearly eight-minute-long monologue intended to mimic a presidential address. With “Hail to the Chief” playing as he stood in front of an American flag, Smith criticized President Donald Trump, furthering an ongoing war of words focused on Trump’s decision to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.
“Our president showed up in New York City last night. And needless to say, what I feared would happen ended up happening,” Smith said. “The New York Knicks lost and obviously, I’m blaming him. Why am I blaming him, ladies and gentlemen? It’s very, very simple: because the president disrupted our mojo. I’ve said this on many occasions over the last 24 hours and I’m saying it again. The man messed things up.”
As Smith noted, he had already prophesied Trump’s presence could result in the Knicks’ 13-game postseason winning streak coming to an end in the lead-up to Game 3. Asked about Smith’s commentary following the game in the context of the 58-year-old’s previous political aspirations, Trump responded with a personal shot of his own.
“I think he’s a nice guy. But you need a certain aptitude to run for president,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to depart Manhattan following the Spurs’ 115–111 Game 3 victory. “You need a high IQ. I’m not sure that Stephen has that. I don’t think he does, actually.”
Addressing Trump’s comments about his IQ, Smith threatened to challenge him to a debate. He also referenced viral videos, which appeared to depict the 79-year-old president sleeping in his Madison Square Garden suite during Monday night’s game.
“Go online, look at the videos. I’m not going to accuse him of snoring because I wasn’t in earshot. But the brother wasn’t awake,” Smith said. “If it was that important for you to be there, why did you look like you were asleep? Didn’t you call our former president Joe Biden, Sleepy Joe? Well, what should we call you? ’Cause you weren’t awake.”
Smith also noted that Trump’s attendance led to a significant increase in security, including the cancellation of fan watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden. To that end, New York City police commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press conference Monday that the watch parties are expected to return for Game 4 on Wednesday, seemingly indicating Trump won’t be in attendance.
Still, Trump—who was briefly but audibly booed during the national anthem Monday—has yet to publicly confirm his plans for Wednesday night. And with the president having previously flirted with attending Game 4, Smith ended his faux address by advising him otherwise.
“It’s clear you need your rest, isn’t it?” Smith said. “The New York Knicks need it, too. Give New Yorkers a break. Stay at the White House, go to Mar-a-Lago. Go to Bedminster. Do whatever it is that you gotta do. Just stay the hell away from the New York Knicks for the rest of this series. Pretty please, with sugar on top.”
Shortly after Smith’s rant Tuesday morning, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported Trump is “not expected” to attend Game 4 due to “scheduling conflicts and obligations.”
