ESPN's Stephen A. Smith debunked the oft-repeated but unproven lie on the left that President-elect Trump is a racist.
In conversation with Bill Maher about comedians club random On his podcast, Smith challenged the left's favorite accusations against the former and future president by emphasizing President Trump's appeal to black voters, especially black men.
“This happens all the time, white boys coming up to me about Trump and saying, “He's such a racist.'' “So how can black people vote for him more every time?'' 'What?'” Maher asked. “And, you know, they didn't vote for him very much, but the men did vote, okay? And I said, you know what? I want to speak for all black people. No…please tell me if I'm wrong or right. I wonder what black people think about Trump. Like, is he racist? Yeah, but they think all white people are kind of racist. Do they think white people talk like Trump behind closed doors? Yes, he's just a crazy person.”
“Because you're black, you don't look at white people and automatically think they're racist. You know they're different than you, they think differently than you, you know they're racist,” Smith said. You automatically know that you come from a different cultural background and have a different experience than them.
“We know that people he's been friends with for years were talking the same way around you, and you didn't see any problem with it. Now it's a problem. Don't act like you have one.”
Mr. Maher then said that President-elect Trump has “genuine” friendships with black people, to which Mr. Smith referred to his own “friendly” relationship with Mr. Trump and said that he is attractive to black people. He mentioned the characteristics of the next president.
“I wouldn't have called myself his friend by any stretch of the imagination at the time,” Smith said. “But I've said this many times. I've said this on “The View,'' which I recently appeared on, and more. Mr. Trump and I were friends before he ran for president. He used to hold these boxing matches at Trump's casinos, especially during the Tyson fight. He'll be at Knicks games and stuff. To be honest, all my brothers thought he was cool. They found him very cool. Let me be clear. Because he knew his sport, okay? He spoke up about his feelings and opposed the system we love, and we were drawn to it. ”
Maher added: “And he was of a certain age, so you can kind of understand that a white guy of that age would just be like, 'Grandpa, I don't say that anymore.'” I answered. But does he really have hatred in his heart? No, I don't think his motive is “I hate black people.” I think his motivation is, “Everyone has to love me.'' ”
Mr. Smith readily agreed.
“I've never called him a racist. I've never talked about him that way. Ever,” Smith explained. “Not once. Not once, because I knew about him beforehand.”
Mr. Trump defeated Vice President Harris primarily because of increased support among black and Latino voters. The president-elect saw a significant increase in the number of black men and led the vote among Hispanic men.
