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.