The back-and-forth between ESPN’s Stephen A Smith and President Donald Trump just got a lot louder. What started as a pregame prediction turned into a full-blown public feud and Smith was not about to let the last word belong to the president.
How it all started
Before Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on Monday, Smith said on air that if the Knicks lost, he would hold Trump’s attendance responsible. The Knicks had been on a 13-game winning streak heading into the game, according to For the Win. Trump showed up, was loudly booed when shown on screen during the National Anthem though he later claimed that the crowd reaction was “mostly cheers” and the streak ended, per Rolling Stone.
Smith had also taken issue with the disruption Trump’s visit caused for regular fans. The Secret Service set up a hard perimeter around the arena, fans were made to wait in long lines for advanced security screenings and watch parties near the arena were forced to move. “This is about an individual engaging in a level of narcissism that really rakes my freakin’ nerves,” Smith said.
“He’s got no business here tonight. It has nothing to do with politics. It was everything to do with the fervor that exists around the New York Knicks and he is disrupting everything the Knicks have been vibing with.”
Also Read: When will Kingdom Hearts 4 release? What we know so far amid big Nintendo Direct reveal
Trump hits back with ‘Low IQ’ comment
When asked about Smith’s comments, Trump said Smith was “a nice guy” but added that you “need a certain aptitude to run for president, you need a high IQ, I’m not sure he has that. I don’t think he does, actuall,” he said per Rolling Stone.
It was not the first time Trump has used this line. According to Trump’s Truth Social posts, he has used the phrase “Low IQ” at least 50 times between 2022 and April of this year, with 60 percent of those directed at Black or brown individuals. His past targets have included Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and lawmakers including Reps Maxine Waters, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Hakeem Jeffries, Rashida Tlaib and Jasmine Crockett.
Stephen A Smith challenges Trump after ‘low IQ’ remark
Smith hit back the next day in a three-minute monologue on First Take on Tuesday, filmed in front of an American flag backdrop. “You wanna talk about IQ, I could say I could put my IQ against yours,” Smith said.
“I got something even better. I could ask you why you’ve been running from me for the past year since I asked you to talk to me. I could ask you to debate me since you think you’re that dude. We could go a myriad of ways.” Smith, who has publicly floated the idea of running for president himself, also called out the economic impact of Trump’s visit on local businesses near the arena. “I thought you were about the economy? I thought you were about helping New Yorkers ’cause you love New York?” he said.
Stephen A Smith net worth
The man Trump called “low IQ” is worth $45 million. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Smith earns $20 million per year from ESPN, making him one of the highest-paid commentators in sports media. He started out as a print journalist at the New York Daily News in 1993 before joining ESPN, where he became a permanent face on First Take in 2012.
