Stephen A. Smith defends White House dinner with Trump: ‘He didn’t run from any questions’
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, who clashed publicly with President Trump this summer, said Friday that the president answered every question during a White House dinner Thursday night with comedian Bill Maher and musician Kid Rock.
Kid Rock disclosed the gathering earlier Friday on Fox News, calling it “epic.” Mr. Smith then devoted a 36-minute episode of his “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.” podcast to the evening, according to Awful Announcing.
“Essentially, it amounted to what I consider to be a very substantive evening,” Mr. Smith said, adding that the group stayed for more than four hours. He said Mr. Trump was “very, very defiant” toward criticism but that the meeting was “respectful.”
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Mr. Trump told reporters Friday it was a “very informative dinner” and that Mr. Maher “likes me a lot more than people understand,” RedState reported. Kid Rock said the four agreed that socialism and communism have no place in government.
Mr. Smith’s praise came with caveats. He said Mr. Trump “could not have been nicer” but showed a “relatively dismissive attitude” toward the economy and inflation, and likened the president to boxing promoter Don King, BizPac Review reported. Speaking later to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Mr. Smith described a tour that included the Oval Office, the ballroom construction and the colonnade.
Mr. Smith said he pressed Mr. Trump on Black unemployment, diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and funding for historically Black colleges and universities. Mr. Trump said he would “look into that” and “might call,” Mr. Smith said, according to Awful Announcing.
The dinner followed a June dispute in which Mr. Smith said he would blame Mr. Trump if the Knicks lost Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and Mr. Trump responded that Mr. Smith lacked the “high IQ” needed to run for president.
Mr. Smith said he and Mr. Maher have been invited back to the White House.
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