U.S. President Donald Trump‘s presence at Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Madison Square Garden was one of the primary talking points on Monday night. While Knicks fans weren’t in favor of Trump attending the game, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith was particularly vocal about expressing his displeasure.
Much to everyone’s dismay, the Knicks suffered a 115-111 loss in Game 3, leading many to blame Trump. While the U.S. President had little to say about this, intriguingly, after being informed of Stephen A. Smith’s comments, Donald Trump questioned Smith’s IQ, sowing the seeds for a new feud. Needless to say, Smith clapped back.
During Tuesday’s episode of “First Take,” Smith began by ripping Trump for calling him a low-IQ individual, stating:
“You wanna talk about IQ, I could say I could put my IQ against yours any day of the week. I can do you one better. I could ask you why you’ve been running from me for the past year since I asked you to talk to me. I could ask you to debate me, since you think you’re that dude. We could go a myriad of ways with all of this. But I’m not going to let you off the hook, because none of that is important.”
Smith continued by calling out Trump for compromising local businesses around Madison Square Garden, affecting their daily operations with his extensive security detail. By questioning Trump’s commitment to the economy and his love for the people in New York, the ESPN analyst put the U.S. President on the spot.
“This is a sports show,” Smith continued. “But I won’t go any further than to say, Brunson played better when you weren’t there. Mikal Bridges played better when you weren’t there. Karl-Anthony Towns played better when you weren’t there, and Landry Shamet played better when you weren’t there.”
“The crowd was festive, hyped, and more intimidating when you weren’t there. Businesses were thriving before you showed up. Parking garages were benefiting before you showed up. There was noise reverberating off the walls of Madison Square Garden before you showed up. And this is what you’ve done. I thought you were a New Yorker, Mr. President. I thought you cared.”
Stephen A. Smith’s comments were a perfect blend of vitriol and guilt, but the analyst was far from finished with his scathing rant. When revisiting the “low-IQ” comment, Stephen A. Smith shared:
“Donald Trump and I have history. We knew each other before he entered the White House. In the world of sports, he knows what I bring to the table. I’d like to remind everybody that, over a year ago, on a network news station, the same Donald Trump that said my IQ was low, and that you have to have a strong aptitude and a high IQ to be the president, that same Donald Trump told Bill O’Reilly, Chris Cuomo, and a packed audience for a town hall meeting, that he would love to see me run for president.”
“Because I said what I said about him being the reason that the New York Knicks will have lost Game 3, he obviously took offense and clapped back,” Smith added.
Stephen A. Smith reiterated that he did not take offense to Trump’s comments, highlighting that the President was well within his rights to do so. But he continued:
“I’m not offended because, unlike him, I can take it… Anybody who refutes anything that he says or thinks is low-IQ. I’ve never heard him say that about Barack Obama, but that’s neither here nor there.”
Stephen A. Smith’s rant took a completely different turn as he called out Trump’s term as president, noting his recent decision-making about the war with Iran. For all intents and purposes, the analyst was picking Trump apart at this point.
But sticking with Donald Trump’s presence at MSG, Stephen A. Smith had more to say about the U.S. President falling asleep at the game on “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” where he chastised Trump’s behavior.
“There was footage of him on camera, not looking awake. Dolan is sitting right next to him. Both of them look like they were sleeping. You don’t expect to hear that from a president who called his predecessor ‘Sleepy Joe,'” Smith commented.
When noting the speculation surrounding Donald Trump’s attendance for Game 4 on Wednesday night, Smith continued:
“All I’m trying to say is that no president – Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, HW, I don’t give a damn if it was Reagan – no sitting president should be at an NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden.”
The logistics support Stephen A. Smith’s statement. While MSG is an iconic arena, by virtue of its capacity and the sheer size of the Knicks‘ fan base, accommodating Trump and his security detail denied several fans an opportunity to be part of the experience. Given that the watch party outside the arena was also canceled because of Trump’s arrival, fans have every reason to be annoyed.
Although NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has approved a ticketed watch party outside MSG for Game 4, strict restrictions have been put in place for safety purposes. While these are understandable to some extent, given the reports indicating that Trump will not be present for Game 4, it may be easier for fans to enjoy the game.
