Former President Donald Trump has consistently gotten a bad rap from Democrats and far-left media types — especially those of color — that he’s a massive racist, but one black ESPN personality is pushing back.
Stephen A. Smith said Tuesday he knows Trump personally — has for quite some time — and the man may be a lot of things but ‘racist’ isn’t one of them.
“I knew Trump before he ran for the presidency. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to him. He was a huge sports fan. He used to throw a lot of events at — you know — at his casinos and stuff like that, and I genuinely liked him,” Smith said.
“I didn’t know who this guy was running for president. I think he’s changed, but I will tell you this: I think when people call him racist and stuff like that, I’ve never thought of Trump that way,” he added. “He’s not against black people. He’s against all things not named Trump.”
He also said Trump turned on the NFL when the league moved to prevent him from buying a team (he did fund a USFL start-up team back in the day and signed Hershel Walker — the New Jersey Generals — during the league’s first iteration in the early 1980s).
“If they screw me over, I am going to show them,” Smith said while paraphrasing comments Trump made about the NFL owners. “I’m going to get them all back. I’m going to run for president of the United States.”
He also said that when Trump went after the league for players taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem, that was in part payback for the way he was treated.
“The criticism was him politicizing the situation for his own benefit to cause havoc for NFL owners who had screwed him over from becoming, from becoming an NFL owner and being a part of their club,” Smith said.
Stephen A Smith on Trump:
"I think when people call him racist and stuff like that, I've never thought of Trump that way. He's not against black people…" pic.twitter.com/RLCB7y0Ffn
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 10, 2023