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President Donald Trump played right into Stephen A. Smith’s hands by giving him an opportunity to make a storyline about himself. After Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, Trump essentially called the First Take host stupid by doubting his IQ.
The beef between the pair began prior to Game 3, when Stephen A. Smith ripped President Trump’s plans to attend the NBA Finals, making him the first sitting President to do so. Trump’s attendance led to fans having to wait in line for hours to enter the arena and squashed area foot traffic that would have served as a massive boon for local businesses.
“This president has no business showing up in New York City. I am dead serious. It is selfish. It is narcissistic. It is ridiculous that he is coming to this game,” Smith said. “If it causes the Knicks to lose tonight, I’m blaming him.”
Stephen A. Smith responded to Donald Trump questioning his IQ by challenging him to a debate
The Knicks did lose Game 3 by a score of 115-111, snapping their 13-game long win streak. After the game, Trump was asked about Smith and brought up his IQ, or as far as Trump’s concerned, his lack thereof.
“I think he’s a nice guy but you need a certain aptitude to run for president. You need a high IQ, I don’t really think Stephen A Smith has that,” Trump said after Game 3 of the NBA Finals, which was the first time the Knicks lost in the last 14 games.
Reporter: Stephen A. Smith said he would blame you if the Knicks lost tonight how do you respond
Donald Trump: I think he’s a nice guy but you need a certain aptitude to run for president. You need a high IQ, I don’t really think Stephen A Smith has that
LLLMMFFAAOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/8nodMdflUh
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) June 9, 2026
Predictably, Smith responded to Trump on First Take on Tuesday morning by challenging him to a debate.
“You wanna talk about IQ, I could say I could put my IQ against yours, I got something even better I could ask you why you 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 said.
The Knicks loss to the Spurs on Monday night essentially cost them a chance at locking up the NBA title, as no NBA team has ever successfully come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series in league history (teams leading 3-0 in NBA playoffs are 159-0). Instead, they now lead the series 2-1 and have lost the momentum in the series to the San Antonio Spurs.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals will tip-off from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday, June 10 at 8:30 p.m. EST.