Stephen A. Smith sparked controversy Thursday when he defended Donald Trump by saying Black Americans could relate to him “being discriminated against,”. Smith’s comments on Fox News’ The Sean Hannity Show quickly went viral, and caught the attention of the civil rights organization, the NAACP. Friday night, the NAACP responded to a video of Smith’s remarks tweeted by the X account Republicans against Trump.
Adding the hashtag, #BLASPHEMOUS, the NAACP tweeted, “Relatable!?! Show of hands: Anyone in your Black family have 88 felony charges pending, filed for bankruptcy 6x, made an attempt to overthrow a presidential election and our democracy, and still have the ability to fall asleep in court and dream of being POTUS?”
Relatable!?! Show of hands: Anyone in your Black family have 88 felony charges pending, filed for bankruptcy 6x, made an attempt to overthrow a presidential election and our democracy, and still have the ability to fall asleep in court and dream of being POTUS? #BLASPHEMOUS https://t.co/xtG40vpTQ2
— NAACP (@NAACP) April 19, 2024
Smith quickly fired back to defend and clarify his comments.
“This is absolutely, positively, sad that you — @NAACP — would misrepresent my comments like this. I was asked what Blacks WHO SUPPORT TRUMP are thinking as to why they support him. I answer THAT question. Sad! But you’re entitled. Good luck. Maybe that will beat Trump, since little else seems to be working — which was my overall point. We shall see.”
This is absolutely, positively, sad that you — @NAACP — would misrepresent my comments like this. I was asked what Blacks WHO SUPPORT TRUMP are thinking as to why they support him. I answer THAT question. Sad! But you’re entitled. Good luck. Maybe that will beat Trump, since… https://t.co/bQXK5Ldfuz
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) April 20, 2024
Smith did a nice job clarifying his comments. An outspoken Democratic voter in the past who has already announced his support for President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election but Smith has seemingly spent a lot of time and energy courting Republicans appearing often on Fox News, interviewing Clay Travis, and asked his followers to donate money to Chris Christie.
“As much as people may have been abhorred by Donald Trump’s statement weeks ago talking about how Black folks, he’s hearing that Black folks find him relatable because of what he is going through is similar to what Black Americans have gone through, he wasn’t lying! He was telling the truth,” Smith told Hannity.
https://twitter.com/realandyhidalgo/status/1781168991433633798
While Smith is not a fan of Trump, who he’s labeled “dangerous,” he’s an outspoken critic of the trial in New York.
Earlier this week on The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith called the former president’s trial a “disaster” and “much ado about nothing.”
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.