Culture

An Intense Stephen A. Smith Challenges Donald Trump To A Public Debate Over DEI

#Stephen A. Smith
by Last Updated
Stephen A Smith on the ESPN NBA Countdown live set

Kirby Lee - Imagn Images


Stephen A. Smith challenged President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to a public debate over DEI during Thursday’s edition of First Take. Smith’s comments come one day after the Pentagon was called out for deleting an article on its website about Jackie Robinson’s career in the Army.

Smith, who has been toying with the idea that he could actually run for President in the next election, called out Donald Trump and his staff for their spate of anti-DEI actions following the disrespect shown to Jackie Robinson.

“Nobody is calling out the President, Donald Trump. I will,” Stephen A. Smith said. “I’m not gonna call him names and all this stuff like stupid folks on the left are doing. Engaging in incendiary rhetoric. It’s unnecessary, it’s immature and it’s uncalled for. He’s the President of the United States. Treat him with the respect that he deserves, but in the same breath, call him to the carpet for the stuff that he’s doing.

“This is the same Donald Trump that looked at folks during the campaign in 2015 and 2024 and he said, ‘What do you got to lose?’ Okay? Well, guess what? He won the popular vote, he won the electoral college vote, he won every swing state, okay? And in the process, his numbers improved from 2020 to 2024 with young blacks, young Hispanics, okay? And young voters overall. You forgetting about those people now that you’re in office, President Trump? They don’t matter now? History doesn’t matter? The inequities of this country didn’t matter? The insidious behavior and actions, from a historical perspective, oh, we want to ignore all of that? It doesn’t go down like that.”

“When you look at the actions of this administration and you’re talking about DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion, and you’re equating that with Black people and you’re using words like ‘unqualified,’ remember, he blamed DEI when a plane crashed, in the immediate aftermath of the plane crash in DC, colliding with the helicopter, where lives were lost,” Stephen A. Smith continued. “The first words that came out of President Trump’s mouth was DEI. What evidence do you have, President Trump? He had none, admitted he had none, but still lent itself to DEI.

“Pete Hegseth is the head of the Defense Department. He has served our country with honor. I am not trying to knock him or denigrate him in any way. We gotta root for our elected politicians or the people they assign to departments and wish them nothing but the best in America’s best interest, but the fact of the matter is, how is he not DEI? He was a soldier and then he was a host on Fox News on the weekends. And he goes from that to being the head of a Defense Department that oversees more than three-and-a-half million people. How in the hell do you go from being a weekend host to being the head of over three-and-a-half million people for the Defense Department of the United States? He happens to be white, but we don’t mention DEI when it comes to him. Why not?”

“President Trump, I’m happy to sit down with you to have that conversation, sir,” Stephen A. Smith went on to say. “I’d love for you to try to defend it. Vice President Vance, you too. Pete Hegseth, you too. Stephen A. Smith is calling you out on national television. I’d love for you to sit down with the cameras rolling and try to defend this. It’s ridiculous.”

Douglas Charles headshot avatar BroBible
Douglas Charles is a Senior Editor for BroBible with two decades of expertise writing about sports, science, and pop culture with a particular focus on the weird news and events that capture the internet's attention. He is a graduate from the University of Iowa.
Tags