Stephen A. Smith is responding to the backlash he’s receiving over what he said about Rep. Jasmine Crockett‘s approach to politics.
As Blavity reported, the comments Smith made last week about Crockett were said during an episode of his SiriusXM talk show Straight Shooter with Stephen A., where he also chimes in on political issues. During that episode, Smith shared data about the American economy. He then complimented Trump before targeting Crockett’s resistance to the presidential cabinet and Republicans’ decisions.
“What we’re not going to do is we’re not going to be like pundits on the air taking one side or another, refusing to highlight the positive, always focusing on a negative when it comes to a candidate we can’t stand or a politician we can’t stand,” he added about the constant kickback Trump receives from many Democrats.
What did Stephen A. Smith say about Jasmine Crockett?
In the same episode, Smith highlighted good points made by Hakeem Jefferies, whom he recently interviewed, before noting that it still “doesn’t make the Democrats innocent.” This moment led him to mention Crockett and share his opinion on how she chooses to rally against Trump and his policies. Before he sounded off, he added that she was an “intelligent, accomplished woman” after claiming he wasn’t “calling her out” because he doesn’t like her.
“When I point to a Jasmine Crockett, it’s because here’s what I know. All I ever hear her doing is going off about Trump. Ladies and gentlemen, can I tell you what my belief is? I have no desire to be a politician. Let me reiterate that,” Smith said. “And I appreciate House Leader, Democratic leader Hakeim Jeffrey speaking to me in the way that he did by saying that I speak with the frustration of the American people because you damn right I do. Let me tell you what gets me annoyed, and I hope Jasmine Crockett is listening to this, and by the way, she’s welcome on the show.”
“When you go on national television and you calling the president of the United States out of his name and you’re being all disrespectful as a representative in this country, do you believe the citizens of Texas sent you there to do that? They don’t like him either. I’m talking about those who voted for her in all likelihood,” he added. “But because he is who he is and he is in that position, they expect you to go to Capitol Hill and figure out a way to maneuver yourself through that terrain to work in a fashion that’s going to facilitate getting things done on behalf of your constituents. That’s your job! That’s your job!”
Smith went on to finish his message on how Crockett opposes Trump.
“Excuse my language on SiriusXM, but it ain’t your job to say, ‘He ain’t s**t. He ain’t worth a damn.’ That’s not your job. Anybody could do that. You’re supposed to be figuring out a way to get things done.”
Jasmine Crockett subtly claps back at Stephen A. Smith
Crockett caught wind of his comments and reposted a statement from Texas rapper Willie D on her stories with the praying hands emoji on Monday, Vibe reported.
“Stephen A. Smith taking shots at Jasmine Crockett ain’t just messy, it’s weak. Dude is sitting on one of the biggest mics in America, and instead of using it to uplift, he’s tearing down a Black woman who’s out here putting in real work. That ain’t critique, that’s betrayal,” Willie D wrote. “Jasmine Crockett ain’t the problem.”
The rapper added that Crockett is the “kind of woman who walks into rooms full of snakes and makes the snakes flinch” and that Smith is “showing us what happens when the paycheck gets louder than the principle. That’s sucker shyt, straight up.”
Stephen A. Smith doubles down on what he said about Jasmine Crockett after backlash
Following the backlash, Smith published an Instagram post sharing that he made a new video addressing his comments about Crockett: “A lot of people had a lot to say about my comments on Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, so I wanted to respond,” he wrote. “Live on YouTube now.”
“I felt compelled to come on the air a little bit earlier this week after what I’ve had to endure this weekend,” he said to kick off the show. “What I had to endure this weekend were an abundance of people talking a whole lot of stuff about me because they did not like what I had to say about Representative Jasmine Crockett.”
Smith added later in his video, “All the verbiage and all the nonsense that I’ve heard over the last few days is why it can get exhausting because nothing frustrates me more than when people have the truth at their disposal and they choose maybe not lie, maybe not even embellish, but allow their emotions to usurp facts and all of a sudden want to use that as an excuse to label me as being something and doing something I’m neither not nor have I done, which in this case is disrespecting Representative Crockett out of Texas, who, by the way, has had an invite to this show for weeks.”
Smith stood firm in his disagreement with Crockett’s delivery and name-dropped people like Willie D, Roland Martin, Bakari Sellers and Angela Rye, who all spoke out on behalf of Crockett.
“I’ve invited Jasmine Crockett. I have nothing but respect for her. I just disagree on what she’s making headlines for because I think it’s counterproductive to the ultimate goal,” Smith stated. “But yet, here we are and the word disrespect comes in and people try to engage with words, you know, like disrespect and implying misogyny and all of this other nonsense. Stop it!”
As of press time, Crockett hasn’t responded to Smith’s follow-up video.