Stephen A. Smith, the famous ESPN personality, has returned to the limelight, this other time through a viral moment that happened on Fox News Channel, where he was the guest of the host Sean Hannity.
It did not take long for the particular clip to go viral, largely due to Smith’s incredulous reaction when trying to speak about former president Donald Trump. This happened as Smith was passionately condemning Trump and equally arguing that Hannity had no reason to defend Trump.
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When Hannity tried to respond to Smith, the ESPN personality rolled his eyes and put his hand on his chin in disbelief, which quickly went viral on social media. The exchange exposed how much of an opponent Smith was to Trump, unlike the supportive comments Hannity was coming up with.
A user uploaded a Smith’s now-a-meme-face captioning it, “New to my meme rotation…”
Even climate scientist and researcher, Patrick T. Brown, jokingly commented that Smith’s high-energy, high-intensity approach might be a bit much for most cable news arguments. He wrote,
“Stephen A Smith making the jump from sports talk shouting to cable news shouting is like when MLB pitchers who throw 97 miles per hour do a rehab stint at Class-A ball against 19-year-olds.”
A user commented, “This didn’t go the way Hannity expected clearly 😂”
Another user mentioned, “Respect to Stephen A. He taking on bigger things than sports.”
A user added, “ I regret to say that Stephen A cooked here 😂”
“I did not have Stephen A. Smith schooling Hannity on his own show on my 2024 bingo card”, read a comment.
The Memorable Exchange
On October 25, 2024, Smith was invited on the air to talk about Trump-related events or statements. As Hannity boasted that Trump had been clear and rational, Smith confidently interrupted in anger, saying,
“I know you’re not talking about someone being lucid and cogent, and enunciating their thoughts with clarity, and you’re bragging about Donald Trump. We can’t be watching the same stuff if that’s what you’re doing!”
When Hannity tried to excuse Trump by stating he had spent a lot of time with him and he really thought the former President was "so dialed in," Smith was visibly in disbelief and put his hand on his face – an action that went viral and became a meme on social media within minutes.
The sort of comments that Smith made during this segment are part of a growing concern with Trump’s possible resurgence in 2024. He said that if Trump gets a second term it would not be leadership in America’s interest but a "revenge tour".
“The cesspool that we look at as the nation's capital... if you got him back in office and he's only on a revenge tour and he's not focused on doing what it takes to lead the country, where will that lead the country?”
Hannity and Trump’s longstanding relationship
Hannity has stood for Trump’s presidency since 2016 and his aid became stronger during this time. He has been accused of granting Trump more airtime than the other candidates thus giving the Republican presidential candidate an upper hand.
For instance, Hannity has stuck his neck for Trump in multiple situations such as the Access Hollywood tape where Trump was captured uttering lewd things about women. In this case, Hannity said, “King David had 500 concubines, for crying out loud,” as he dismissed Trump’s mistakes while building his positive image among conservative audiences.
On the September 4, 2024, town hall event, Hannity invited Trump to speak about the 2024 campaign and vilified Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. On this occasion, Hannity enabled Trump to elaborate more on the topic of immigration and make statements about the economy that were then fact-checked to be misleading.
Stephen A. Smith and Politics
The highly influential ESPN commentator, Smith has lately assumed political commentary. The media appearances include Fox News channel with Hannity and NewsNation with Chris Cuomo.
Smith has expounded on the issue explaining that he is a “registered independent” voter with leaning left. He has complained about constantly being referred to as a conservative only because of his appearance in conservative media. He stated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
“I have voted Democrat most of the time, but sometimes I haven’t been happy about it,”
Smith identified himself as a centrist, who approves of capitalism but supports welfare state programs directed at helping populations.
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