ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith debriefed his White House interview with President Donald Trump during an appearance Thursday on “Hannity” and cautioned Democrats over the influence of the party’s far-left flank.
Smith said the pair discussed “devastating” GOP midterm losses during a 40-minute, wide-ranging interview and criticized Trump for refusing to take blame, saying he was “immovable” on that point.
“We talked about the devastating losses in the midterms and how the GOP essentially got slaughtered,” Smith told Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“I asked him, is he willing to point the finger at himself, and he was dogged… he was immovable in that regard,” he added.
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Trump repeatedly told Americans during his midterm blitz to vote as if he were on the ballot, but Smith said the commander-in-chief removed himself from that narrative during their Thursday interview.
“He said, ‘I wasn’t on the ballot.’ I said, ‘That makes absolutely no sense, Mr. President. You said, put you on a ballot. That’s what you told the American people to do.’ He said, ‘Well, they didn’t do it.’ I said, ‘Well, what if they did do it and that was the reason you lost,’” Smith explained.
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“He refused to accept that,” he continued. “His attitude is that the candidates were not that great. If it were him that was running, this would not have happened. That’s his mentality.”
Smith explained why he doesn’t agree with Trump’s perception of how the midterms played out and argued that the blue wave stems from Americans being dissatisfied with his presidency.
“I think that he is somebody that is convinced his way is what it is. I just don’t agree with him,” Smith said.
“I think the American people made a statement against what they were seeing from him in terms of him not having his eye on the ball and coming across as a bit detached in their eyes,” he added.
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Smith told Fox News that Trump also gave him pushback when discussing the impact of the Iran War and tariffs on voter sentiment and the economy. He also addressed speculation that Trump offered him the role of White House press secretary.
“That was absolutely hilarious,” Smith said. “Evidently, they don’t know about the life that I live and the kind of affluence that ESPN and Disney have blessed me with.”
“I wouldn’t take that pay cut for almost anything but the presidency,” he continued. “That ain’t happening. Press secretary? Please.”
Smith, who has lodged criticism at both Democrats and Republicans, warned that the Democratic Party faces a challenge from its far-left side.
“I definitely think that right now, the Democrats have a challenge on their hands because clearly there’s a lot of people out there that view the Democratic Party as a divided party,” he said. “Now they will tell you they’re a very big tent and there’s room for everybody, but I think that the progressive left has shown you there isn’t room for everybody.”
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“If you’re not willing to capitulate to their desires, their wishes and their ideological beliefs 100%, then they got a problem with you,” he added.
Smith called out Democrats who have declined interviews and expressed gratitude that Trump agreed to sit down with him for an interview.
“[Trump] was just very rigid and immovable in his thinking that it was blown by the people who lost and that the candidates on the Republican side simply were not good enough. It was not about him,” Smith said.
“… I give him credit,” he continued. “I asked a question, and he answered, and he didn’t run from anything.”