After President Donald Trump lobbed a racist insult at him, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith mocked the sleepy soon-to-be 80-year-old for not being able to stay awake during an NBA game Monday night.
While interviewed after leaving the game—where he was loudly booed—Trump was asked about Smith saying that he would blame Trump if the New York Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs, which they did by a score of 115 to 111.
“I think he’s a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president, you need a high IQ. I’m not sure that Stephen has that. I don’t think he does, actually,” Trump said.
Smith is the latest in a long line of Black public figures who Trump has targeted as having a low IQ. He said the same thing about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. It’s been Trump’s go-to racist insult and echoes decades of white supremacist rhetoric.
But Smith didn’t hold back in his response. On ESPN’s “First Take” on Tuesday, Smith mocked Trump for falling asleep during the game.
“And guess what he was doing during the game, ladies and gentlemen? Go online, look at the videos. I’m not going to accuse him of snoring because I wasn’t in earshot, but the brother wasn’t awake,” Smith said.
“If it was that important for you to be there, why did you look like you were asleep? Didn’t you call our former President Joe Biden ‘Sleepy Joe’? Well, what should we call you? Because you weren’t awake,” he continued.
Smith went on to say that Trump only pretended to be a Knicks fan, arguing that they ultimately lost the game “because you got in the way.”
The negative response to Trump stands in stark contrast to how former President Barack Obama was greeted at NBA games. During a Los Angeles Clippers game last March, Obama was met with a standing ovation.
The Knicks and Spurs will continue on to play at least two more games. Fingers crossed Trump will stay home for those—they’re past his bedtime anyway.
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