ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith pushed back against “The View” co-host Joy Behar’s claim that President Donald Trump lacked a mandate following his 2024 election victory.Behar argued that Trump’s narrow popular vote win—by about 1%—along with the GOP’s slim majorities in both the House and Senate undermined any claim of a clear mandate. She emphasized that Trump’s popular vote margin was the smallest ever, making his victory far from a landslide.
“What kind of mandate is this really?” Behar pressed Smith. He countered that Trump does, in fact, have a mandate, pointing to his sweep of all seven swing states, his significant gains among racial minorities and blue-collar workers, and the fact that he became the first Republican candidate in 20 years to win the popular vote.
“Well it is a mandate and I’m gonna explain why,” Smith said. “And I don’t mind the question but let me be very clear, I’m no supporter of Trump. I’m a supporter of truth and the facts, and here’s the facts. The man won every swing state, he increased voter turnout in his favor from the standpoint of blacks, Latinos, and young voters. He increased his numbers in that regard from 2020. 89% of the counties shifted to the right. That’s a mandate.”
“We can sit up there and play around all we want to,” Smith continued. “In 2020, Trump didn’t the popular vote, he didn’t win the Electoral College vote. As a matter of fact, the Republicans haven’t won the popular vote if I remember correctly since 2004. But they did this year.” Smith argued that Trump’s victory was a clear rebuke of the Democrats’ agenda, suggesting that if the Democratic Party hopes to win the presidency again, it must rethink its messaging and strategy.
Public polling showed that Trump held a significant lead over both former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris on the economy and immigration—the two most important issues for voters in the 2024 election.
Trump made history as the first Republican presidential nominee to win Hispanic men, securing 55% support among that voter bloc, according to an NBC News exit poll. In contrast, Kamala Harris underperformed among Hispanic voters overall, receiving just 52% in exit polls—down from the 61% Joe Biden won in 2020, according to Politico.
Trump also achieved a historic victory in Starr County, Texas, becoming the first Republican to carry the county since 1892 with over 57% of the vote. The overwhelmingly Democratic border county is 97% Hispanic, underscoring Trump’s growing support among Latino voters.
