Stephen A. Smith is facing backlash after suggesting that Black people can relate to former President Donald Trump amid his hush money trial in New York.
During an appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show last week, Smith claimed the Democratic party pushed for Trump's trial to begin this month to block his path to reelection in November.
“Primarily I have voted Democrat throughout my life, but I’m utterly disgusted with what I’m seeing,” Smith said.
“They’ve clearly politicized this thing with Donald Trump because they can’t come up with a strategy to offset the momentum he’s clearly gained,” he added. “That appears to be their strategy, but I’m going to tell you, it’s not working. It’s not working at all.”
Smith went on to suggest that Black people can relate to Trump amid his legal troubles. The former president is facing 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying documents to cover up payments to porn star Stormy Daniels weeks before the 2016 election.
“By Donald Trump’s statement weeks ago, talking about how he’s hearing that Black folks find him relatable, because what he’s going through is similar to what Black Americans have gone through. He wasn’t lying,” the ESPN host said. “He was telling the truth. When you see the law enforcement, the court system, and everything else being exercised against him, it is something that Black folks, throughout this nation, can relate to.”
“With some of our historic, iconic figures, we’ve seen that happen throughout society. So no matter what race, what ethnicity you may emanate from, we relate to you when you’re suffering like that, because we know we have. And that’s what he articulated," Smith added.
Smith's comments were condemned by several social media users, including the NAACP.
"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," the NAACP tweeted.
Bishop Talbert Swan, a Massachusetts pastor and activist, also blasted Smith over his “irresponsible remarks.”
“Stephen A. Smith going on Fox News, an anti Black, white supremacist, news outlet, and comparing Donald Trump being prosecuted for paying a porn star hush money with historical, Black, civil rights figures, and freedom fighters like Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, The Black Panther Party, and others, being illegally surveilled, infiltrated, discredited, disrupted, profiled, arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and even murdered, is blatantly disrespectful, irresponsible, and a gross display of sycophantic tap dancing,” Swan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Stephen, you should be ashamed and embarrassed,” he added.
Despite being against the Democrats' alleged tactics against Trump, Smith said he wanted the former president to lose the upcoming election.
“And to be quite honest, I don’t mind the fact that it’s not working because I might not be a supporter of Donald Trump, but I want him to lose the right way," he said last week.
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