Fox interview descends into shouting match as fired-up Stephen A Smith goes on rampage about Trump and the Knicks
Stephen A. Smith clashed with Fox News host Sean Hannity after Smith doubled down on criticizing Donald Trump for attending a Knicks game.
Smith has been feuding with Trump ever since he said he would blame him if the New York team lost in Game 3 of the Finals.
His worst fears came true on Monday night, when Trump was in the crowd to watch the Knicks lose against the San Antonio Spurs.
Smith claimed the president’s attendance ‘disrupted’ the Knicks’ ‘mojo’. Trump was booed by the crowd when he appeared on the big screen.
He and Trump have since exchanged barbs back and forth but on Thursday, Smith joined Hannity on his show to ‘clear the air.’
Despite their decades-long friendship, the conversation devolved into a shouting match after Smith told Hannity: ‘You tell me to stay in my lane? You don’t know sports!’
‘Excuse me?’ said Hannity.
‘Here’s the deal, Sean. I take no offense with the president coming after me the way that he did,’ Smith said. ‘He has every right to come back and clap back at me. I’m a big boy. I can take it.’
TV titans Sean Hannity and Stephen A Smith got into it over Smith’s Monday claim that he would blame Donald Trump if the New York Knicks lost in Game 3 of the Finals
Trump sat with granddaughter Kai and Knicks owner Jim Dolan while taking in the game. He dismissed Smith as having a low ‘IQ’ after the loss
Trump told a reporter at Madison Square Garden that he thought Smith had a low ‘IQ’ after the game.
Smith responded by calling Trump ‘narcissistic and selfish’ on Tuesday’s First Take. He also challenged him to a debate.
Trump responded by claiming the ESPN star ‘would get annihilated’ in a Wednesday post to Truth Social.
But Smith went on to argue that Trump, as a Knicks fan, should see his point.
‘When you are a true sports fan, you know every little thing can disrupt the momentum,’ Smith said.
‘The momentum is there. Incredibly intimidating. And what does this guy do? He shows up.’
‘He disrupted the momentum and the fervor and that is why I blamed him for the loss in game three,’ the commentator continued.
Hannity shot back: ‘That’s nuts. That’s on them.’
‘Here’s the deal, Sean. I take no offense with the president coming after me the way that he did,’ Smith told his old friend Hannity at a point. ‘He has every right to come back and clap back at me. I’m a big boy. I can take it’
‘Let me finish,’ Smith said. He reiterated how the Knicks had been on a 13-game winning streak before their loss on Monday.
‘Donald Trump knows he had no business disrupting that mojo. [He’s] not a New York Knicks fan. Not a true New York Knicks fan.’
Hannity interrupted to ask: ‘Why? He’s the president of the United States.’
Several minutes of crosstalk followed, as the two debated who was to blame.
‘Time out!’ Smith said at a point.
The two eventually abandoned the tiff, turning to the violent celebrations seen from Knicks fans following their come-from-behind win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4.
Both men agreed that lax lawmakers and local politicians were largely to blame.
Smith and Hannity have a lengthy history.
During a January appearance on Hannity’s Fox Nation show, Smith, 58, admitted: ‘We met at a time when I was really, really struggling in business.
‘I was doing an interview with Fox News, and I came out of there, and you saw me in the hallway and let me know that you had seen me a few times, and that you really, really liked what you were seeing and to keep up the great work.’
‘We just hit it off,’ Smith said, recalling his first appearance on Hannity in the mid 2000s.
Both now hold spots at the top of cable television.
