Stephen A. Smith is no stranger to controversy and is at the center of it again. The ESPN analyst usually stirs the pot with his sports takes, but this time he dabbled into the political arena. Smith made an appearance Tuesday, June 6 on “Hannity” hosted by Sean Hannity on FOX, and shared that he would vote for Chris Christie in the 2024 Presidential Election over any Democratic candidate, which includes President Joe Biden.
This is the second jab Smith has taken at Biden’s age. Smith also had comments about the age of Biden on his podcast last Friday. The comments were prompted after Biden latest fall on Thursday during the Air Force Commencement ceremony.
An Age Thing
Christie is the former governor of New Jersey and now a Republican candidate for the 2024 Presidential race.
“I think there’s an abundance of people who can do better,” Smith said. he continued, “I’m looking at him and I don’t like what I see. I’m not impressed with what I see, and I’ve been very concerned with what I’ve seen, and the fact that he’s going to be 82 years of age at election time.
“If he were to win the election, then he’d be in the White House until he’s 86 years old,” Smith continued. “I think in the year 2023 it is utterly embarrassing that the liberal side has him as their best candidate. What does it say about you when that is the best candidate that you can give the left? That is ridiculous!”
He said that his comments were “not a knock against Joe Biden,” but instead “more of an indictment against the Democratic Party.”
Previous Comments
On Friday, Smith didn’t hold back on his “Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast. He discussed Biden’s age again after a video went viral of the president falling.
“It’s just my personal opinion; that’s all it is. Take it for what it’s worth. Somebody’s gotta say it, so I’m going to say it. We need a new president in 2024. We need a new president,” Smith said.
He continued, “Without trying to engage in any kind of ageism at all, because I don’t believe in it. There does come a point in time where there are certain jobs you don’t need. It’s not that you don’t need to be working, it’s not that you don’t need to be living your life, it’s not that you don’t need to be living a very vibrant lifestyle or anything like that, but there are responsibilities that are far, far, far more extensive than let’s say the typical 9 to 5 that somebody in their 80s may not need to be doing. I think the presidency is one of ’em.”
The Backlash
Black social media users didn’t hold back their thoughts on Smith’s comments.
“Thought SAS was great when he was on with Will Cain a few weeks back, and I gained a lot of respect for him at that point. All of that respect & goodwill was completely eroded when he couldn’t acknowledge Potato Joe is a spud,” wrote @PCD.
Another user wrote, “At first I was like ‘Yay welcome home SAS I knew you weren’t a full blown looney lefty’ then he lost me by endorsing Chris Christie. Anybody endorsing Christie can’t be taken seriously.”
Smith admitted to being “socially liberal” and “fiscally conservative.” He also admitted that he has voted twice for Christie when he ran for governor of New Jersey, and said he was the only Republican for whom he’s ever voted.
“Strange to make this point…and not mention Trump’s age. And he was also President. But Trump isn’t threatening his tax bracket,” wrote @HarlemJ11.
