Furious Stephen A. Smith challenges Donald Trump to live TV debate
By OLIVER SALT
Stephen A. Smith has taken a furious swipe at Donald Trump over his stance on DEI programs and urged the president to debate him on TV over the controversial topic.
In his first week back in office, Trump issued a series of executive orders to restrict DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives in the US after branding them a form of 'discrimination'.
DEI laws and measures had been under attack for years by Republicans who believe they threaten merit-based hiring, promotion and educational opportunities of white people, specifically white men. Some Asian Americans also argue DEI unfairly limits opportunities for students and workers, while certain members of the black community claim it undermines years of progress.
However, supporters of the programs are adamant that they are necessary to ensure institutions meet the needs of increasingly diverse populations.
Smith, who has emerged as a shock candidate to run for presidency in recent months, sits on the latter side of the debate after accusing Trump of 'forgetting' about the black, Hispanic and young voters who helped him return to office.
'Nobody is calling out the president Donald Trump. I will,' the ESPN host and political commentator said in a passionate rant on the latest edition of 'First Take'. 'And I'm not gonna call him names and all of 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.
Stephen A. Smith has challenged Donald Trump to a live debate over his stance on DEI
The ESPN personality took a furious swipe at Trump during the latest edition of 'First Take'
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'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 stuff that he's doing.'
Smith then voiced his anger over Trump's DEI stance after his Department of Defense controversially removed an article covering the military service of baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, which was later restored and put down to a 'mistake.
During his tirade, he highlighted the president's take on the plane crash in Washington DC that killed 67 people earlier this year, which he blamed on DEI despite having no evidence to back it up, while pointing to Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host who was recently named Secretary of Defense, as an example of his hypocrisy.
'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 in the immediate aftermath of the plane crash in DC where lives were lost. The first words that came out of president Trump's mouth were DEI,' Smith continued.
'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. 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 3.5 million people.
'How in the hell do you go from being a weekend host to being the head of over 3.5 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.'
He blasted the president for blaming the fatal Washington DC plane crash in January on DEI
Smith has emerged as a shock candidate to potentially run for presidency in recent months
Smith concluded his rant by challenging Trump, vice president JD Vance and Hegseth to a live TV debate on the matter.
'President Trump, I’m happy to sit down with you to have that conversation, sir. I’d love for you to try to defend it,' he insisted. '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.'
Smith has been flirting with the possibility of running for president after a national survey revealed last month that he would receive more support than several high-profile Democrat hopefuls in three years' time.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com shortly after the survey was released, the 57-year-old left the door open to run if the American people call for it, despite stressing that he has no personal desire to do so.
Amid talk of a shock election run, Smith recently put pen to paper on a staggering $100million contract with ESPN.
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