Stephen A. Smith Refuses To Back Down From NBA Finals Feud With President Trump
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith has made it known over the past four days that he's not afraid to clash with President Donald Trump.
Prior to Trump showing up to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Smith said he'd blame the president if the New York Knicks lose to the San Antonio Spurs. Well, he stayed true to his word.
Not only did Smith blame Trump for the Knicks losing Game 3, he accused the president of falling asleep in his suite with James Dolan.
"The brother wasn't awake," Smith said. "Didn't you call out former President Joe Biden, ‘Sleepy Joe?' Well, what should we call you?"
Less than 24 hours later, Trump ripped Smith in a rant on Truth Social.
"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. "He'd get annihilated in a debate by the most incompetent of politicians. Joe Biden's now "fabled" performance would look great by comparison to anything that this loudmouth huckster has to offer, which isn't much! Within a few weeks, they'd laugh him out of politics!!!"
What does Stephen A. Smith have to say now?
Though it's not really a surprise, Smith refuses to give Trump the last word. He fired back at him during an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.
"I take no offense at the president coming after me the way that he did. People go after him every day. I've certainly gone after him. He has every right to come back and clap back at me. I'm a big boy. I can take it. He's not phasing me one bit," Smith said. "But this man was raised in Queens, New York. He's a lifelong Knicks fan. He knows about the suffering that spans 53 years. And when you are a true sports fan, you know that every little thing can disrupt momentum. You had watch parties outside with thousands of people, packed arenas, fans throughout the city, gatherings in Central Park, Bryant Park, and across New York. The momentum was there. The energy was there. And what does this guy do? He shows up, they have to get rid of the watch party, he disrupts the momentum and the fervor, and that is why I blamed him for the loss in Game 3."
With Game 5 of the NBA Finals coming up, there's a chance we'll see Smith and Trump exchange harsh words again very soon.
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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 6:44 AM.