Stephen A. Smith said Sunday that President Donald Trump was an “upgrade” from former President Joe Biden when it comes to alertness, even as the ESPN host continued to criticize Trump during their ongoing public feud.
Smith made the comment while discussing his recent back-and-forth with Trump, which began after the president attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in support of the New York Knicks.
Although Smith has taken several shots at Trump over the appearance, including claiming the president fell asleep during the game, he stopped short of questioning Trump’s overall alertness in the same way critics had often questioned Biden.
“Well, I don’t know anybody that would associate the word ‘sharp’ with because he doesn’t seem that sharp with some of the decisions that he makes sometimes, to be quite honest with you,” Smith said. “But I’m not here to denigrate or insult the President of the United States in that regard. He is certainly an upgrade from what we were seeing from Joe Biden in terms of his alertness and what have you. I certainly would say that I would not accuse him of that. But I’m not going to insult the president.”
Smith said he still believed Trump had been “napping” during the Knicks game, but he did not frame it as a major issue. He said the president has “got a lot on his plate” and suggested that dozing off during a game was not the same as being unfit for office.
The ESPN personality was less forgiving, however, when responding to Trump’s remarks about his intelligence. Trump had previously called Smith a “low IQ individual” after Smith criticized his appearance at the game.
Smith challenged Trump to debate him directly rather than suggesting others could defeat him in a political argument.
“When he wants to sit up there and question my IQ and talk to me about people that would smoke me in a debate, well, why don’t you do it yourself?” Smith said. “Why defer to anybody else? Because I’d be more than happy to sit across from the president and debate some of the decisions that he’s made. And I’m not interested in running or anything like that.”
When Fox News Digital asked the White House for comment, officials pointed to a Truth Social post from Trump in which he sharply attacked Smith.
“Stephen A. Smith is an arrogant fool, a low IQ individual. In other words, he’s ‘dumb as a rock,’ and totally unqualified to ever think of running for high political office, or even low political office, for that matter!” Trump wrote.
Trump also said Smith would be “annihilated in a debate” by even weak politicians and claimed he would be “laughed out of politics” within weeks.
The feud started after Smith blasted Trump’s decision to attend Game 3, calling it “selfish” and “narcissistic.” After the Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs 115-111, Smith blamed Trump’s presence for disrupting the team’s momentum.
Trump later responded in a comment to Fox News Digital, taking a jab at Smith’s rumored political ambitions.
“I think he’s a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president,” Trump said. “You need a high IQ. I’m not sure that Stephen has that. I don’t think he does, actually.”
By Saturday, Smith appeared ready to move past the fight, at least temporarily, after the Knicks won the NBA championship for the first time in 53 years.
“The Knicks just won the title. I don’t give a s— about politics or anything like that,” Smith told OutKick/Fox News Digital. “I could care less. You could ask me tomorrow, you could ask me Tuesday. But right now, the New York Knicks just ended a 53-year drought. I’ve waited all my life for this moment. And I’m not going to let anything get in the way of that.”
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