Stephen A. Smith apologized for saying black people relate to Trump because of his persecution by the legal system…in a way.
The ESPN hot-take machine took to the podcast airwaves on Monday to list the various civil rights organizations and media personalities who took him to task for saying that the slew of legal trials the former president is being subjected to would endear him to blacks who feel similarly persecuted.
“Dare I say something that might– will probably be termed the most uncomfortable thing that I’ve ever had to articulate out of my mouth from a political perspective,” Smith said last week on Hannity. “But I gotta tell you something. As much as people may have been abhorred by Donald Trump’s statement weeks ago talking about how Black folks, he’s hearing that Black folks find him relatable because what he is going through is similar to what Black Americans have gone through; he wasn’t lying! He was telling the truth.”
🚨#BREAKING: Stephen A. Smith: “When you see the law being exercised against Donald Trump, it is something that black folks can relate to.” pic.twitter.com/Nu3wnV5Bkq
— Andy Hidalgo (@realandyhidalgo) April 19, 2024
On Monday, Smith attempted to clear the air.
“A lot of folks in black America seem pretty pissed with me right now, from friends and loved ones to colleagues, contemporaries, and, dare I say, even the NAACP itself. Quite a few folks were put off, if not flat-out offended after my words were interpreted as associating support for Trump from the black community with all the legal issues he’s facing. For that, I sincerely apologize. To be clear, my words were misconstrued.”
NEW: Stephen A. Smith backtracks, says he is sorry for his positive comments about Donald Trump that went viral last week.
Every single time.
Smith, who said that black people can relate to Trump because of the injustice he is facing, now says his comments were… pic.twitter.com/KhjyTdakPC
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 23, 2024
However, shortly after backpedaling in deference to his critics, Smith went on to list several polls and surveys showing that blacks had indeed increased their support for the former president.
Smith stressed that he studied the “facts” before giving his opinion and that there had indeed been a momentum shift among blacks towards Trump.
Most of the reaction on X, however, was unsympathetic to Smith.
Of course he is now back tracking. Why do people give into the angry mob instead of doubling down?
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) April 23, 2024
ESPN got to him. Probably threatened to fire him…
— Mike Sperrazza (@MikeASperrazza) April 23, 2024
Smith is a coward.
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) April 24, 2024
Stephen A. Smith is a spineless coward.
He got bullied into changing his tune.
Everyone can see President Trump is facing grave injustice right now.
To deny that in any way is to ignore reality.
Smith should be ashamed of himself for not standing by what he originally said.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) April 23, 2024
It could be argued that Smith’s apology was actually a stronger statement of support than his initial interview on Hannity. Though he backpedaled, Smith used his X platform to tell his nearly 6 million followers about an important shift in a crucial voting bloc that Democrats can ill afford to lose. If the polls Smith mentioned are correct, they could foretell a historic shift in the Democrat’s most consistently loyal demographic.
After all, it’s not like Smith said he was voting for Trump. All he said was that more blacks could relate to him. And whether it’s because of Trump’s legal struggles or just because their lives were demonstrably better when he was president, he seems quite correct about that.
