Stephen A. Smith blasts Michelle Obama over 'offensive' Donald Trump comments after ex-First Lady turned on ESPN
Obama savaged ESPN and its on-screen personalities, including First Take star Smith, on the latest episode of her 'IMO' podcast after comparing the network to reality TV show 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta '.
She said: 'It's the same drama, and they're yelling at each other, and they don't get along, you know? I mean, Stephen A. Smith, he's just like every other talk show host.'
In the wake of her 'Real Housewives' jibe, Smith responded to Obama on the latest episode of his YouTube show.
After urging her to invite people onto the IMO podcast with 'dissenting opinions', he hit out at the 61-year-old for her rhetoric about Trump and the Republican party ahead of last year's presidential election.
'Michelle Obama, I wanna take this opportunity to remind you that while you are revered by me personally, and I truly, truly mean that with the greatest sincerity, I'm still a bit salty at you,' Smith said.
'When you were campaigning on behalf of the former Vice President Kamala Harris, you said a vote for Trump was a vote against you and a vote against y'all as women. I want to say for the record - I took major offense to that.
'I think to this day that is the only thing that I didn't like that you said, I didn't appreciate it. Because there's so many things that go into deciding where your vote is going to go.
'For some people, it's all about the economy. For others, it's all about national security. For some people, it is immigration. For some people, it's safety in the streets of America. Long before they think about pro-choice or pro-life.'
Smith then briefly praised Obama after branding her 'sensational' and claiming that both she and husband Barack would beat Trump in an election if either of them decide to run in the future.
He then addressed her comments about ESPN, which he 'respectfully disagreed' with after hearing the comparison to the Real Housewives.
'So this doesn't have anything to do with what you were talking about, how sports and reality TV mirror one another, even though we would beg to differ,' the ESPN host continued. 'Because a lot of things on reality TV are made-up situations and scenarios to provoke reactions and all of that stuff.
'We're at sports, that's live entertainment, and you're actually competing against one another is big time. No, reality TV is not like that. You're so wrong about that, about that assertion, but that's neither here nor there.
'You will never hear me utter a negative word about you, but I respectfully disagreed and still remain pretty salty about what you said about us,' Smith said, before adding that Obama 'sort of blackmail[ed] us emotionally into trying to compel us to vote one way or another.'
Smith, widely considered the face of ESPN, emerged as a shock presidential candidate earlier this year after a national survey revealed that he would receive more support than several high-profile Democrat hopefuls in three years' time.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com shortly after the survey was released, the 57-year-old left the door open to run if the American people call for it, despite stressing that he has no personal desire to do so.
He has frequently taken aim at the Democrats since Harris' resounding election defeat in November, accusing them of focusing too much on talking down Trump than making their own case.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Justice Department debates release of Ghislaine Maxwell interview
The Justice Department recorded its more than nine-hour sit-down with the convicted child sexual trafficker, CNN reported. Amid pressure to be more transparent about the Jeffrey Epstein case, President Donald Trump 's administration is considering if the recordings should be made public. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche went down to Florida last month to spend two days questioning Maxwell about what she knows in regards to Epstein's horrific crimes. Maxwell, 63, is currently serving out a 20-year sentence for crimes related to sexual trafficking conspiracy and enticing and transporting minors to engage in illegal sexual acts. Her attorney David Oscar Markus said after the second day of questioning concluded that they had not put in a formal request with the White House for a pardon. But he didn't rule out taking that action in the future, saying 'things are happening so quickly.' 'The president said earlier he has the power to do so, we hope he exercises that power in the right way,' he said of a potential commutation. Markus also said his client 'didn't hold back' during questioning from the Justice Department, that's now revealed to be on tape. He said Maxwell spoke with Blanche about '100 different people' related to Epstein's child sexual trafficking ring.
Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Trump administration to formally axe Elon Musk's 'five things' email
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans as soon as Tuesday to formally axe a program launched by billionaire former Trump adviser Elon Musk requiring federal employees to summarize their five workplace achievements from the prior week, two people familiar with the matter said. The Office of Personnel Management, the federal human resources agency that implemented Musk's push to slash the federal workforce, plans to announce the end of the "five things" email to HR representatives across the federal government later on Tuesday, the two people said, declining to be named because the matter was not public. While many federal agencies had already phased out compliance with the weekly email, the move, not previously reported, signals the Trump administration is turning the page on one of Musk's most unpopular initiatives following a dramatic row between the two men in early June. The White House and OPM did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Musk, who spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump win November's presidential election, led the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to slash the budget and cut the federal workforce until his departure in May to refocus on his tech empire. Musk initially received a warm White House sendoff from Trump, but then incurred the president's wrath by describing Trump's tax cut and spending bill as an abomination. Trump pulled the nomination of Musk ally and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA and later threatened to cancel billions of dollars worth of federal contracts with Musk's companies after the blowup between the two men. The "five things" email, launched by Musk in February to boost accountability, sparked tensions with department chiefs who were blindsided by the weekend email mandating the move. It also fueled confusion among government workers who received mixed messages about whether and how to comply. Reuters reported in March that the White House installed two Trump loyalists at OPM to ensure better policy coordination between the White House and the agency. Scott Kupor, a venture capitalist who took the helm at OPM in July, foreshadowed the end of the initiative last month, describing processing of the weekly response emails as "very manual" and "not efficient." It is "something that we should look at and see, like, are we getting the value out of it that at least the people who put it in place thought they were," he said.
The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
‘I am not some pawn in your political warfare:' Epstein victim rips government's handling of files release
A victim of Jeffrey Epstein has condemned what they called the Trump administration's 'political warfare' in its handling of government files on the late convicted sex offender as the Justice Department pushes for the release of grand jury transcripts in his New York federal case. Epstein was a wealthy financier who died in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges. He had been accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls. About a decade earlier, Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. Early last month, the DOJ and FBI came out with a memo stating there was no so-called client list of powerful people who may have partaken in Epstein's crimes; it also said Epstein did, in fact, die by suicide, and 'no further disclosure [of information regarding Epstein] would be appropriate or warranted.' The memo sparked backlash, notably from Trump's own base, as it left many unanswered questions and concerns the government may be covering up materials that would be of interest to the public. Trump then asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to 'produce any and all pertinent' grand jury testimony from the investigations into Epstein, 'subject to Court approval,' citing the 'ridiculous amount of publicity' over them. A Florida judge quickly denied the DOJ's request but the feds' bid in New York is still being considered. Victims in the New York case were asked to respond to the DOJ's request and two of them did so in court documents filed Monday. Both were unnamed as is their right to remain anonymous. One Epstein survivor wrote to District Judge Richard Berman, 'Dear United States, I wish you would have handled and would handle the whole 'Epstein Files' with more respect towards and for the victims. I am not some pawn in your political warfare.' 'What you have done and continue to do is eating at me day after day as you help to perpetuate this story indefinitely. Why not be completely transparent? Show us all the files with only the necessary redactions! Be done with it and allow me/us to heal,' the victim said. In the letter to the judge the victim also seemingly called out the Trump administration for what they said was its protection of the wealthy over Epstein's victims. 'You protect yourself and your powerful and wealthy 'friends' (not enemies) over the victims, why? The victims know the truth, we know who are in the files and now so do you,' the victim said. It's unclear who exactly the victim was referring to, but Trump's decades-old relationship with Epstein has recently been scrutinized, and there have been reports the president was told his name appears in the Epstein files. Trump reportedly cut ties with Epstein before his 2008 plea deal and appearing in the files does not mean there was any wrongdoing. Trump himself has denied any wrongdoing. The victim asked Berman to have the attorneys of the victims review any suggested redactions if the transcripts are released. The Independent has reached out to the DOJ for comment. Another victim told Berman: 'The latest attention on the 'Epstein Files', the 'Client List' is OUT OF CONTROL and the ones that are left to suffer are not the high-profile individuals, IT IS THE VICTIMS. Why the lack of concern in handling such sensitive information for the victims sake?' That survivor also called out the feds for what they saw as protecting 'wealthy men.' 'I feel like the DOJ's and FBI's priority is protecting the 'third-party', the wealthy men by focusing on scrubbing their names off the files of which the victims, 'know who they are,'' they said. The victim asked Berman to consider a third-party review of any documents that may be released ' to ensure that NO victims names or likenesses are revealed.' When contacted about the victims' statements, Harrison Fields, special assistant to the president and principal deputy press secretary, brought up claims from the administration that former President Barack Obama and his top officials were part of a conspiracy to keep Trump out of the White House with the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Russia has denied meddling in the election and Trump has insisted the assessments about the interference are a 'hoax.' 'Following the compelling case outlined by DNI Tulsi Gabbard, which exposed clear and blatant weaponization by corrupt intelligence officials acting at the behest of the Democrat Party and likely former President Obama, the Administration remains committed to conducting a thorough investigation. 'This effort aims to provide the American people with the truth about the extent to which former government officials worked to sabotage the Trump administration and undermine the will of the American people in a clear attempt to subvert our Constitutional Republic,' Fields told The Independent. The Independent attempted to confirm the White House's statement was in response to the Epstein case, given that it referenced a different matter, but it has yet to hear back. The allegations against Obama, which he has strongly denied, were made by the administration during the fallout from the Epstein files, leading to criticism that they were trying to distract from the drama.
